Composer Information: Charles L. Hanon

Charles-Louis Hanon (July 2, 1819 – March 19, 1900) was a French piano pedagogue and composer. He is most well known for his work The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises which has become part of the standard method for modern piano teachers.

It has been a recent trend for music schools to hold a Hanon Marathon, Church Street School for Music and Art being the first to have coined the term and held the event, in which Hanon exercises are played competitively.

The Hanon method is not without its detractors. Critics have questioned the merits of the independent finger technique which the exercises seek to cultivate, with some pedagogues, such as Abby Whiteside, Chuan C. Chang and Jeroen Riemsdijk considering them to be actively harmful.

Charles Nunzio, now in his nineties, wrote "Hanon for Accordion", a two-volume set of exercises for Piano Accordion based on a similar philosophy, which has recently been reissued in an updated edition.

A Hanon for Guitar has also been written.

Back to list of composers