CHAPTER XXVII
INSTRUMENTAL VIRTUOSITY
180. Pianism and Pianists.—After the preparatory steps
taken in the previous period (see secs. 160-162) and with the
eminent keyboard masters then appearing still active, it is not
surprising that the 19th century opened with a brilliant advance
in pianism. Chief among the older pianists who were still at
work were Beethoven, Clementi, Hummel, and Cramer. From
the point of view of creation, the greatness of Beethoven
eclipsed all other factors, his concertos and sonatas, indeed,
fully holding their eminence till the present time. But, on the
other hand, other trains of influence, originating with many-sided
geniuses like Weber and Schubert, or with specialists in playing
the piano or writing for it, like Field, Kalkbrenner, Moscheles,
Czerny and many others, deserve to be remembered for their
intrinsic value or their historic consequences.
All but the earliest of Beethoven's piano-works clearly belong to the
new period, even though a few of them were completed before 1800. His
piano style was much affected by his command of the color and the details
of orchestration. Yet at the same time it was truly pianistic, with a
thorough perception of the capacities and limitations of the instrument.
He was fully equipped as a virtuoso and his keyboard writing made large
technical demands, but the urgency of his constructive ideas and of his
impetuous and glowing sentiment pushed the essential materials always
into the foreground. Technique and its triumphs were for him means to
an artistic end, not ends in themselves. This earnestness of effort, combined
with his originality of conception, placed his works for the piano in
a class by themselves. So it is not strange that he can hardly be said to
have founded a school of piano music. It is true that Schubert caught
something of his ideality and copied some of his expressions, and that
pupils like Ries and Czerny sought devotedly to perpetuate his manner.
But his influence was general rather than special, setting up a new ideal
for all musical art rather than precise models of style.
The historic eminence of Weber and Schubert rests mainly upon other works than those for the piano, though both wrote fruitfully for it. They resembled Beethoven in that they used the piano as but one medium for expressing what they were also putting forth otherwise. Weber had the
