# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Cramer

From volume 1 of the work.
[ A. M. ]
J. B. Cramer's playing was distinguished by the astonishingly even cultivation of the two hands, which enabled him, while playing legato, to give an entirely distinct character to florid inner parts, and thus attain a remarkable perfection of execution. He was noted among his contemporaries for his expressive touch in adagio, and in this, and in facility for playing at sight, he was able when in Paris to hold his own against the younger and more advanced pianists. His improvisations were for the most part in a style too artistic and involved for general appreciation. Cramer's mechanism exhibits the development between Clementi and Hummel, and is distinguished from the period of Moscheles and Kalkbrenner which followed it, by the fact that it aimed more at the cultivation of music in general than at the display of the specific qualities of the instrument. All his works are distinguished by a certain musical solidity, which would place them in the same rank with those of Hummel, had his invention been greater and more fluent; but as it is, the artistic style, and the interesting harmony, are counterbalanced by a certain dryness and poverty of expression in the melody. It is true that among his many compositions for pianoforte there are several which undeniably possess musical vitality, and in particular his 7 concertos deserve to be occasionally brought forward; but, speaking generally, his works (105 sonatas, 1 quartet for pianoforte, 1 quintet, and countless variations, rondos, fantasias, etc.) are now forgotten. In one sphere of composition alone Cramer has left a conspicuous and abiding memorial of his powers. His representative work, '84 Studies in two parts of 42 each,' is of classical value for its intimate combination of significant musical ideas, with the most instructive mechanical passages. No similar work except Clementi's 'Gradus ad Parnassum' has been so long or so widely used, and there are probably few pianists who have not studied it with profit. It forms the fifth part of Cramer's 'Grosse practische Pianoforte-Schule' (Schuberth, Leipsic), and has appeared in numerous separate editions. Of these the earliest is probably the lithograph edition of Breitkopf & Härtel, of which the second part appeared in 1810; next in importance ranks the last that was revised by Cramer himself, viz. the original English edition of Cramer & Co., which contained, as op. 81, '16 nouvelles Études,' making in all 100; and finally an edition without the additional Nos., revised by Coccius, and published a few years later than that last mentioned, by Breitkopf & Härtel. A selection of '50 Études,' edited by von Bülow (Aibl, Munich), is specially useful to teachers from the excellent remarks appended to it, though, on the other hand, it contains a number of peculiarities which may or may not be justifiable, the editor having transposed one of the studies and modified the fingering of them all to meet the exigencies of the modern keyboard. The above edition in 100 numbers must be distinguished from the 'Schule der Geläufigkeit' (op. 100), also containing 100 daily studies, and which forms the second part of the 'Grosse Pianoforte-Schule,' and should be used as a preparation for the great 'Études.'
If it is asked, When did Cramer flourish, and what does he represent to us? the answer usually returned is that he was born after Clementi and died after Hummel, and that he forms the link between those two great players and writers for their instrument. But no pianist with his eyes open would commit himself to such a statement, which rests solely upon two dates of birth and death, and leaves out of sight every spiritual connection, every indication of mental paternity and relationship. The truth is that Cramer does not surpass Clementi as regards the technical treatment of the pianoforte, but stops considerably short of him: Cramer's best sonatas are as much more tame and timid than Clementi's best, as his most valuable études are technically easier and less daring than the chefs-d'œuvres of Clementi's Gradus. Spiritually, though not mechanically, Cramer occupies a field of his own, which all pianists respect. Many of his études are poems, like Mendelssohn's Songs without words. But in his sonatas, etc., he moves in a restricted groove of his own, near the highway of Mozart. The name 'J. B. Cramer' really signifies Cramer's Études—let us say some forty or fifty out of the hundred he has published. These certainly are good music—a few, perhaps a dozen, even beautiful music, and always very good practice. But pitted against forty or fifty out of the hundred numbers of Clementi's Gradus, which are equally good music, and decidedly better practice, they sink irretrievably.
[ E. D. ]