Piano Music - Daniel Gottlob Türk

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📖 "The earlier one begins to play the clavichord, the further one may progress, at least with regard to dexterity. For at the tenderest age, the fingers are are still supple enough that one can attain moderate speed with much less effort than when they have grown stiff and inflexible. The earlier one begins, the better, particularly if the size and strength of the fingers allows it, say around the seventh or eighth year. It is, of course, not impossible that adults can still learn to play, but they will find it difficult to attain great dexterity."
Daniel Gottlob Türk School of Clavier Playing, §14 (1789)

📖 "The most important thing in the beginning is to find a good teacher. Usually it is in this respect where the first mistake is made, for the opinion that the rudiments can be learned from anyone is almost general. It is believed that money can be saved and the cheapest teacher is engaged which results in actually costing far more than the most expensive teacher. For experience shows that a skilled and conscientious teacher can bring his students further in a few months than a bad teacher can in a whole year. Moreover, how much time and energy is saved, thereby. For usually the student has to begin over again with a more skilled teacher, after being instructed for several years without correct principles and after much labor finally seeing how ignorant he and his instructor are! And how difficult it is to get rid of old faults which have now become mechanically ingrained."
Daniel Gottlob Türk School of Clavier Playing, §15 (1789)

📖 "… Distorted facial expressions, writhing, grimaces, or whatever you might want to call them, as well as beating time with the feet, dividing each measure by a motion of the entire body, shaking or nodding of the head, snorting during a trill or during a difficult passage, and the like, must never be permitted to a pupil, regardless of social position or sex. In this respect politeness or permissiveness … is very much to be reprimanded, for although music is perceived only through the sense of hearing, the sense of sight should not be offended in the process. Many a musician who delights us with his playing, perceptibly weakens the good impression, when his caricature-like mannerisms either temp us to laugh, or when his apparent convulsions instil fear and horror in the listeners."
Daniel Gottlob Türk School of Clavier Playing, §38 (1789)

📖 "Every so often, one should let students play what they have learnt, in the presence of several, even unknown, persons who are knowledgable about music. This is of double value; it sustains the pupil's desire to a great degree when he has the opportunity to show his progress; at the same time he gains a proper boldness which many already experienced performers are lacking, much to their detriment. If the little virtuoso has so presented his pieces that one can be pleased with them, praises coupled with admonitions for further work will be more fruitful at such occasions than during the usual lessons time."
Daniel Gottlob Türk School of Clavier Playing, §39 (1789)

📖 "The correct position of the hands and fingers is very important, therefore the following rules should be obeserved:
1. The three long (middle) fingers must always be curved a little, but the thumb and the little finger must be held out straight (extended), so that because of the shortness of the latter, the hands and arms need not sometimes be moved forward and then immediately backward. If the three middle fingers are extended, the nerves will be subjected to tension at the same time and as a result, it will not be possble to play with the necessary ease. Only when executing large skips and wide stretches, is it necessary and therefore permissibe to hold the three longer fingers in an extended (fixed, not curved) position.
2. The thumb must always be held over the keyboard, therefore, it should never hang down or be pressed against the edge of the clavichord, for both of these mistakes, among other things would cause unavoidable gaps in the music (incorrect articulation of the musical thought) before the thumb could be placed in its correct position. …
3. The fingers must not be held too closely together, but rather a little apart from each other, so that whenever possible, any stretches can be executed nicely and with continuity, without motion of the hands, because playing should be done only with the fingers. For large skips, however, small movements of the hands and arms are unavoidable.
4. The hands must always be (almost) the same distance above the keyboard, therefore it is not correct to lift them up too high when playing staccato, or leave them almost lying on the keys when playing sustained (slurred) passages, for this will easily cause incorrect uneveness in execution."
Daniel Gottlob Türk School of Clavier Playing, §42 (1789)

Daniel Gottlob Türk

1750 - 1813
Daniel Gottlob Türk was a German composer, organist, and music professor of the Classical period.

In his School of Clavier Playing Türk summarises some of the main principles of the pre-Romantic German piano technique (see extracts below).

Download and explore Türk's piano music, other works and writings on the Petrucci Music Library Website.

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Piano Music by Daniel Gottlob Türk

Or Download Some Piano Music and Books by Daniel Gottlob Türk free on IMSLP

👉 Klavierschule / School of Piano playing (1789)

👉 120 Handstücke für angehende Klavierspieler / Pieces for the Aspiring Piano Player

Explore Recordings of Daniel Gottlob's Türk's Music

Sonata I in A Minor, HedT.104.8.1, II. Poco Adagio, patetico e sostenuto
Michael Tsalka, fortepiano (recorded at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, August, 2012)

Sonata in E minor
Gerard van Reenen, clavichord

Sonata No. 3 in D Major: I. Allegro di molto (from 12 Keyboard Sonatas, Collection 1 (1776)
Michael Tsalka, fortepiano

Sonata No. 5 in B-Flat Major: I. Moderato assai e grazioso (from 12 Keyboard Sonatas, Collection 1 (1776)
Michael Tsalka, fortepiano

Writings of Daniel Gottlob Türk

Von den wichtigsten Pflichten eines Organisten in Beytrag zur Verbesserung der musikalischen Liturgie (Halle, 1787/R, rev. 2/1838 by F. Naue; Eng. trans., 1987)

Clavierschule, oder Anweisung zum Clavierspielen für Lehrer und Lernende … nebst 12 Handstücken (Leipzig and Halle, 1789, enlarged 2/1802/R; Eng. trans., 1982) [unauthorized edn as Neue Klavier-Schule (Vienna, 1798)]

Kurze Anweisung zum Generalbassspielen (Leipzig and Halle, 1791, enlarged 2/1800/R as Anweisung zum Generalbassspielen, enlarged 5/1841 by F. Naue) [unauthorized edns (Vienna, 1822 and n.d.)]

Beleuchtung einer Recension des Buches: Kurze Anweisung zum Generalbassspielen (Halle, 1792)

Kurze Anweisung zum Klavierspielen: ein Auszug aus der grössern Clavierschule (Leipzig and Halle, 1792, enlarged 2/1805)

Kleines Lehrbuch für Anfanger zum Clavierspielen nebst 16 sehr leichten Übungsstücken (Leipzig and Halle, 1802, enlarged 2/1806)

Anleitung zu Temperaturberechnungen für diejenigen, welche in dem arithmetischen Theile der Musik keinen mündlichen Unterricht haben können, ins besondere aber für die Besitzer des Kirnbergerschen Werkes: Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik (Halle, 1808)

List of Piano Works by Daniel Gottlob Türk

12 Sonaten, i (1776, 3/1798), ii (1777, 2/1789)

12 leichte Klaviersonaten, i (1783, 2/1793), ii (1783)

18 kleine Klaviersonaten, i (1785, 2/1787), ii (1786), iii (1793)

6 Klaviersonaten grösstentheils für Kenner (1789) [thematic index of all sonatas in Hedler; extracts in Serauky; 4 ed. in Organum, 5th ser. (1951–8)]

120 Handstücke für angehende Klavierspieler, 60 as vol.i (1792, rev. 3/1806), 60 as vol.ii (1795), some ed. in NM, xciii (1933), 4 ed. in Serauky, others ed. E. Doflein (Mainz, 1940), and W. Serauky (Halle, 1949)

12 kleine Tonstücke … mit beygefügter Fingersetzung (Halle, 1795), from 1st edn of Clavierschule; 30 Tonstücke für 4 Hände, angehenden Klavier- und Fortepianospielern gewidmet, i–iv (1807–8), ed. W. Serauky (Halle, 1948)

2 works in J.A. Hiller: Sammlung kleiner Clavier- und Singstücke (Leipzig, 1774)

1 work in Berlinische musikalische Zeitung (1794), no.31, p.124

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