Your guide to classical music online

Czerny’s Walter Scott Fantasies For Piano Duet

Jed Distler

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

Carl Czerny’s reputation as an industrious creator of piano exercises overshadows his equally prolific compositional output, including these previously unrecorded epic-length piano duet fantasies inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s novels. They respectively draw inspiration from the novels Waverley, Guy Mannering, Ivanhoe, and Rob Roy.

Although Czerny utilizes Scottish folk songs and dances for much of his basic material (such as the so-called “Scottish Snap” dotted rhythm), the tuneful appeal and technical fluency of his keyboard writing is more in line with Weber and Schubert. Of the four works, Rob Roy contains the darkest and most dramatic writing, while Guy Mannering’s exuberance and full-bodied textures evoke more of an orchestra than a piano in a salon.

To be sure, Czerny’s loose-limbed sense of form doesn’t wear well if you attempt to listen to all four fantasies in succession; better to absorb them one at a time. The Wang/Gingher duo infuses these works with finely-honed ensemble values, expert pacing, and tasteful virtuosic élan. Gingher’s informative booklet notes and Naxos’ fine sonics add further value to a release that all piano duet fans should investigate.

« Back to Search Results


Recording Details:

Reference Recording: This one

  • CZERNY, CARL:
    Romantic Piano Fantasies on Sir Walter Scott’s Novels Op. 240-43

    Soloists: Pei-I Wang & Samuel Gingher (piano duet)

  • Record Label: Naxos - 8 579099
  • Medium: CD

Search Music Reviews

Search Sponsor

  • Insider Reviews only
  • Click here for Search Tips

Visit Our Merchandise Store

Visit Store
  • Ideally Cast Met Revival of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
    Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; March 19, 2024—The Met has revived Bartlett Sher’s 1967 production of Gounod’s R&J hot on the heels of its
  • An Ozawa Story, November, 1969
    Much has justifiably been written regarding Seiji Ozawa’s extraordinary abilities and achievements as a conductor, and similarly about his generosity, graciousness, and sense of humor
  • Arvo Pärt’s Passio At St. John The Divine
    Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, NY; January 26, 2024—When one thinks of musical settings of Christ’s Passion, one normally thinks of the