was a "pianist of style but was no transcendental virtuoso" and that his playing lacked "warmth, colour and brilliance". Stamaty's method prescribed complete immobility of body and arms, elbows tucked into the body and all action of the muscles limited to finger and forearms. Saint-Saëns who during his long life had witnessed the development from the old purely digital technique to the transcendental virtuosity of Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and even Leopold Godowsky sums up the advantages and the drawbacks of the Kalkbrenner-Stamaty school like this: "Firmness of the fingers is not the only thing that one learns from Kalkbrenner's method for there is also refinement of the quality of the sound made by the fingers alone, a valuable resource which is unusual in our day. Unfortunately, this school also invented the continuous legato, which is both false and monotonous; the abuse of nuances, and a mania for continuous expressivo used with no discrimination." Selected works His works include a great quantity of studies, shorter piano works (waltzes, fantasies, quadrilles, variations), several sonatas, some chamber music and a piano concerto. The only work of his still in print are the "Finger Rhythm Studies" (Études des doigts, Op. 36). Stamaty's studies are similar to the studies of Carl Czerny. There are many similarities between Stamaty's best output and Czerny's more demanding studies such as his Études de mécanisme, Op. 499. Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 2 Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 3 Études pittoresques, Op. 21 Études progressives, Opp. 37–39 Chant et méchanisme, Op. 38 Études concertantes, Opp. 46, 47 Les Farfadets Rythme des doigts Six Études caractéristiques sur Obéron 12 transcriptions: Souvenir du Conservatoire Piano Sonata in F minor Piano Sonata in C minor Piano Trio Notes and references Sources Chopin, Frédéric, Chopin's Letters, unabridged and slightly corrected Dover Reprint (1988) of the original Knopf edition, edited by E. L. Voynich (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931), . Ehrlich, Cyril, The Piano, A History, revised edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), . Hallé, C.E. Hallé and Marie, Life and Letters of Sir Charles Hallé (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1896). Hense, Sebastian, The Mendelssohn Family (1729–1847). From Letters and Journals, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1881). Hiller, Ferdinand, Mendelssohn - Letters and Recollections (London: Macmillan & Co., 1874). Karasowski, Moritz, Frédèric Chopin. His Life and Letters (London: William Reeves, n. d. [c.1880]). Loggins, Vernon, Where the Word