Hanon - The Tremolo, No.60 from 'The Virtuoso Pianist'

The infamous final boss of Hanon's exercises. A true finger- and wrist-breaker.

Thanks for listening!

About the work:
Charles-Louis Hanon (1819-1900) was a French piano pedagogue and composer. He is best known for his work The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises.

The Virtuoso Pianist (Le Pianiste virtuose) is a compilation of sixty exercises meant to train the pianist in speed, precision, agility, and strength of all of the fingers and flexibility in the wrists. First published in Boulogne, in 1873, The Virtuoso Pianist is still widely used by piano instructors and pupils. However, the applicability of these nineteenth-century exercises has been questioned by some piano instructors today.

#piano #hanon #classicalmusic

[ms-dosguy]

although it is a study, this reminds me a bit of Schubert. Honestly probably the nicest Hanon exercise I've encountered but yeah this looks like your wrists won't work for a while after practicing it.

[andrewbarrett]

REMEMBER (ribbon around finger emoticon), that in Hanon’s day, most extant pianos had a LIGHTER ACTION and LIGHTER HAMMERS than modern pianos. I don’t just mean “current-day” modern, but as old as c. 1885. Pianos from the beginning to mid 19th century often have an all wood frame (maybe with an iron bar for reinforcement), and the cast iron piano plate, introduced in the 1820s, was only more widely adopted decades later. So early pianos were lighter weight, lower tension strings, more fragile, more prone to go out of tune more often, and also had a lighter touch-weight action often with leather covered hammers that give a more “twangy” sound. So it was much easier to play virtuosically on these early pianos.

[kronos]

Just need to notice that, if well played, this is a nice piece of music. Great performance by the way!

[evifnoskcaj]

You can really make those Hanon exercises sound beautiful when you try, especially the advanced ones. Some of the last ones are my favorites.

[thatnicekid]

I have played Hanon hundreds of times and skipped this every time. You are amazing for this. Bravo.

[wobster]

I LOVE THIS PERFORMANCE! It's beautiful and musical and also very clear. I like the amount of pedal use that gives it fullness without hiding any of the individual notes. I like the phrasing. It gives it shape without losing the rhythm, and so it's beautiful while still being very crisp. 💖💖💖🔥🔥🔥

[FritzTheCat_]

If carpal tunnel syndrome was a composer...

[richardmorse]

The best playing of the Tremolo I’ve heard and the fastest! Although mentioned by others I have always been impressed by the musical merits of this piece. Thanks!

[terranbricklin]

Wowwww that pedal work is amazing! The little pulses give it such ebb and flow, and add such a vibrancy to the piece that rote "perfect" playing just doesn't do. You made this sound amazing, congrats!

[jbw]

This would be a great exercise in preparation for Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata.

[brh]

Just hearing this gives me PTSD and finger pain. Never managed to get it this fast, good shit

[sanjosemike]

I used to practice this piece to improve my "stamina." Unfortunately, there is no "blue pill" available to do this. You have to "put in the time and effort." I've played it at least 100 times. I'm not sure it is musical. Maybe to some. The "music" for me was not being too tight and still keep it in tempo and smooth.

I'm glad that some people like it. It's a stretch for me (pun intended.)

Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

[andrewbarrett]

A good friend has an 1838 Collard and Collard (late Clementi) English square piano he has fixed up, and I marvel at how lightweight the action is. You also have to be very careful playing over forte as it is too easy to play loudly on the instrument and one can inadvertently break something, not just due to age, but also to the lighter construction than more modern pianos. So one needs to use a lighter touch at all times when playing one of these, and a variety of dynamics become available. They’re also great for rock music since the timbre is halfway between a guitar and piano, much like a hammered dulcimer.

[wierdpocket]

Honest question: I grew up playing the saxophone in band. I learned how to read the ONE NOTE at a time on the treble clef. I’d like to start reading piano music, but at 34 I wonder if it’s even possible. How ON EARTH can the human brain process this much data at once? My eyes literally can’t even see all of the notes on the stave, let alone parse out their meaning. Is there someone out there that can give me any words of consolation, or am I just a lost cause?

[rotatoe]

This makes my forearms ache just from looking at it

[Knappa]

My fingers have gone into a sympathy cramp listening to this!

[luisandraschnik]

It reminds me of the study op 39 no. 11 Overture by Charles V. Alkan

[andrewbarrett]

This piece is a great warmup for “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” by Clarence Pine Top Smith, or many other of the classic boogie woogie piano solos.

[PhyllMpse]

this is already turned into a classical music rather than practicing a music

[alexhoffmann]

God damn I never got this far in the book! I had no idea this monster was waiting in the back!