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Carl Czerny

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Carl Czerny
Carl Czerny, 1833
Born21 February 1791
Vienna,Austria
Died15 July 1857(1857-07-15)(aged 66)
Vienna, Austria

Carl Czerny(German:[ˈtʃɛʁniː];21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857)[1]was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the lateClassicaland earlyRomanticeras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and his books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. He was one ofLudwig van Beethoven's best-known pupils and would later on be one of the main teachers ofFranz Liszt.

Early life

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Infancy

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The young Czerny. Picture based on the original byJoseph Lanzedelly the Elder

Carl Czerny was born inVienna(Leopoldstadt) and was baptized in St. Leopold parish.[2]His father was ofCzechorigin; his mother wasMoravian.Czerny came from a musical family: his grandfather was a violinist atNimburg,nearPrague,and his father, Wenzel, was an oboist, organist and pianist.[3]When Czerny was six months old, his father took a job as a piano teacher at a Polish manor and the family moved to Poland, where they lived until thethird partition of Polandprompted the family to return to Vienna in 1795.[4]

As a child prodigy, Czerny began playing piano at age three and composing at age seven. His first piano teacher was his father, who taught him mainlyBach,HaydnandMozart.He began performing piano recitals in his parents' home. Czerny made his first public performance in 1800 playing Mozart'sPiano Concerto No. 24 in C minor.[5]

Studies with Beethoven

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In 1801,Wenzel Krumpholz,a Czech composer and violinist, scheduled a presentation for Czerny at the home of Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven asked Czerny to play hisPathétiqueSonataandAdelaide.Beethoven was impressed with the 10-year-old and accepted him as a pupil.[6]Czerny remained under Beethoven's tutelage until 1804 and sporadically thereafter. He particularly admired Beethoven's facility at improvisation, his expertise at fingering, the rapidity of his scales and trills, and his restrained demeanour while performing.[7]

Czerny's autobiography and letters give many important references and details of Beethoven during this period. Czerny was the first to report symptoms of Beethoven's deafness, several years before the matter became public. Of his first meeting with Beethoven, he wrote: "I also noticed with that visual quickness peculiar to children that he had cotton which seemed to have been steeped in a yellowish ointment, in his ears."[8]

Beethoven selected Czerny as pianist for the premiere of the former'sPiano Concerto No. 1in 1806 and, at the age of 21, in February 1812, Czerny gave the Vienna premiere of Beethoven's"Emperor" Piano Concerto.Czerny wrote that his musical memory enabled him to play virtually all of Beethoven's piano works by heart without exception and, during the years 1804–1805, he used to play these works in this manner atPrince Lichnowsky'spalace once or twice a week, with the Prince calling out only the desired opus numbers.[9]Czerny maintained a friendship with Beethoven throughout his life, and also gave piano lessons to Beethoven's nephew Carl.[10]

Later career

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Teacher and composer

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For Czerny's notable students, seeList of music students by teacher: C to F § Carl Czerny.
Czerny introduces his pupil Franz Liszt to Beethoven. Drawing by Rudolf Lipus (1893–1961).

At the age of fifteen, Czerny began a very successful teaching career. Basing his method on the teaching of Beethoven,Muzio ClementiandJohann Nepomuk Hummel,Czerny taught up to twelve lessons a day in the homes of Viennese nobility.[11]His 'star' pupils includedTheodor Döhler,Stephen Heller,Anna Sick,[12]andNinette de Belleville.[13]In 1819, the father ofFranz Lisztbrought his son to Czerny, who recalled:

He was a pale, sickly-looking child, who, while playing, swayed about on the stool as if drunk...His playing was... irregular, untidy, confused, and...he threw his fingers quite arbitrarily all over the keyboard. But that notwithstanding, I was astonished at the talent Nature had bestowed upon him.[14]

Liszt became Czerny's most famous pupil. He trained the child with the works of Beethoven, Clementi,Ignaz MoschelesandJohann Sebastian Bach.The Liszt family lived in the same street in Vienna as Czerny, who was so impressed by the boy that he taught him free of charge. Liszt was later to repay this confidence by introducing the music of Czerny at many of his Paris recitals.[15]Shortly before Liszt's Vienna concert of 13 April 1823 (his final concert of that season), Czerny arranged, with some difficulty (as Beethoven increasingly disliked child prodigies) the introduction of Liszt to Beethoven. Beethoven was sufficiently impressed with the young Liszt to give him a kiss on the forehead.[16]Liszt remained close to Czerny, and in 1852 hisÉtudes d'exécution transcendantewere published with a dedication to Czerny.[17]

Czerny left Vienna only to make trips to Italy, France (in 1837, when he was assisted by Liszt)[18]and England. After 1840, Czerny devoted himself exclusively to composition. He wrote a large number of piano solo exercises for the development of the pianistic technique, designed to cover from the first lessons for children up to the needs of the most advanced virtuoso. (seeList of compositions by Carl Czerny).

Death

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Czerny died in Vienna at the age of 66. He never married and had no near relatives. His large fortune he willed to charities (including an institution for the deaf), his housekeeper and the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, after making provision for the performance of aRequiem massin his memory.[19]

Compositions

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Overview

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Main article:List of compositions by Carl Czerny

Czerny composed a very large number of pieces (more than one thousand and up toOp.861).

Czerny's works include not only piano music (études, nocturnes, sonatas, opera theme arrangements and variations) but also masses and choral music, symphonies, concertos, songs, string quartets and other chamber music. The better known part of Czerny's repertoire is the large number of didactic piano pieces he wrote, such asThe School of VelocityandThe Art of Finger Dexterity.He was one of the first composers to useétude( "study" ) for a title. Czerny's body of works also include arrangements of many popular opera themes.

The majority of the pieces called by Czerny "serious music" (masses, choral music, quartets, orchestral and chamber music) remain in unpublished manuscript form and are held byVienna's Society for the Friends of Music,to which Czerny (a childless bachelor) willed his estate.

Piano music

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Czerny: Duo Concertante for flute and piano, Op. 129
1. Allegro
2. Scherzo – Allegro Molto
3. Andantino Grazioso
4. Rondo – Allegretto
Performed by Alex Murray (flute) andMartha Goldstein(piano)
Problems playing these files? Seemedia help.

Czerny'spiano sonatasshow themselves as an intermediate stage between the works of Beethoven and Liszt. They blend the traditionalsonata formelements with Baroque elements, such as the use offugato,and free forms of fantasy. Recordings of these sonatas have been made byMartin Jones,Anton KuertiandDaniel Blumenthal.

Czerny's pianonocturnesshow some of the elements present in Chopin nocturnes, such as the rhythmic fluidity and the intimate character. Chopin met Czerny in Vienna in 1828 and may have been influenced by his nocturnes.

Czerny composed approximately 180 pieces that bear the title "Variations". Among them isLa Ricordanza,Op 33, whichVladimir Horowitzrecorded. Czerny used not only his own themes but themes from other composers as well, includingDaniel Auber,Ludwig van Beethoven,Vincenzo Bellini,Anton Diabelli,Gaetano Donizetti,Joseph Haydn,Heinrich Marschner,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Niccolò Paganini,Gioachino Rossini,Franz Schubert,Carl Maria von Weberand many others. These works range from solo piano pieces to piano pieces for four, six, and eight hands, with some variations having optional accompaniment of orchestra or string quartet. Czerny sometimes combined his variations with other genres, such as fantasy, rondo, or impromptu.

Czerny was one of 50 composers who wrote aVariationon a theme ofAnton Diabellifor Part II of theVaterländischer Künstlerverein(published 1824). He also wrote acodato round out the collection. Part I was devoted to the 33 variations supplied by Beethoven, hisDiabelli Variations,Op. 120. Together with Liszt, Chopin,Henri Herz,Johann Peter PixisandSigismond Thalberg,Czerny was a contributor to the compendium set of variations for piano,Hexameron(1837).

Other compositions

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(1857–2007) 150th anniversary of Czerny's death, Central Cemetery, Vienna

The seven symphonies of Czerny began to be recorded in 1990s. In the 21st century, two new symphonies came to light (Symphony No. 6 and a large Symphony written in 1814); also two overtures (in C Minor and E Major) and some symphonic choral music (Psalm 130 and "Die Macht des Gesanges" ).[20]

Czerny was a prolific composer of chamber music, normally including the piano: Trios for strings and Piano, Quintets for strings and Piano, Sonatas for Violin and Piano, and also Piano Variations with Flute, Horn, and other instruments. However, there are many works without piano, including string quartets, which have enjoyed a new appreciation in recent years.[21]

Czerny, a devout Catholic, also composed many religious pieces. These works include a number of Masses and hymns.

Publications

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In 1842 Czerny published an autobiographical sketch, "Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben" ( "Memories from My Life" ). Other works by Czerny, apart from his compositions, include: his edition ofJohann Sebastian Bach'sThe Well-Tempered Clavier;"Letters to a young lady, on the art of playing the pianoforte"; his three-volume "School of Practical Composition" (published as his Op. 600), of which the last volume is a treatise on orchestration; his edition ofDomenico Scarlatti'ssonatas(1840); and "On the proper performance of all Beethoven's works for piano" (1846),[22]as well as several editions of Beethoven's works for piano.[23]

Legacy

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Influence

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"Czerny, the forefather of Pianoforte Technic", illustration fromThe Etudemagazine, April 1927

Czerny can be considered as a father of modern piano technique for generations of pianists, when it is taken into account that many of his students, such asTheodor Leschetizky,Franz LisztandTheodor Kullak,also became teachers and passed on his legacy. The US music magazineThe Etudepresented in its issue of April 1927 an illustration (see above) showing how Czerny could be considered the father of modern piano technique and the basis of an entire generation of pianists. This list can be extended to the present day: examples of 'descent' are:

Czerny wrote an essay on the correct performing of the piano sonatas of Beethoven, "On the Proper performance of all Beethoven's works for piano" (1846).Johannes Brahmswrote about it toClara Schumannin a letter of March 1878: "I certainly think Czerny's large pianoforte course Op. 500 is worthy of study, particularly in regard to what he says about Beethoven and the performance of his works, for he was a diligent and attentive pupil... Czerny's fingering is particularly worthy for attention. In fact I think that people today ought to have more respect for this excellent man"[24]In a letter written toOtto Jahnof 30 October 1852, Liszt wrote: "In the twenties, when a great portion of Beethoven's creations was a kind of Sphinx, Czerny was playing Beethoven exclusively, with an understanding as excellent as his technique was efficient and effective; and, later on, he did not set himself up against some progress that had been made in technique, but contributed materially to it by his own teaching and works."[25]

Czerny had an influential role in defining thecanonofclassicalpiano repertoire. Volume 4 (1847) of hisTheoretico-Practical Piano Schoollisted what he considered to be the most important piano works of the previous eighty years, including works of Mozart, Clementi, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and works of his own.[26]

Reputation

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From Czerny's death until the end of the 20th century, negative views about his work have predominated.Robert Schumannin theNeue Zeitschrift für Musik(New Musical Gazette), said of Czerny's op. 424: "It would be difficult to find a failure of imagination greater than that of Czerny."

Liszt included several Czerny compositions in his repertoire and also dedicated his twelveTranscendental Étudesto Czerny. He also collaborated with Czerny on theHexaméron.But even Liszt suggested, in an 1852 letter toOtto Jahn:"It is... a pity that, by a too super-abundant productiveness, he has necessarily weakened himself, and has not gone on further on the road of his first Sonata (Op. 7, A-flat major) and of other works of that period, which I rate very highly, as compositions of importance, beautifully formed and having the noblest tendency."[25]In "Men, Women and Pianos"Arthur Loesserdescribes Czerny's music as "without depth, intensity, or wit, but always smooth and pretty and rather ear-tickling when played fast... endless variety of patterns and endless monotony of import."[27]

More positive views have been offered by musicians such asAnton Kuerti,[28]Brahms,[24]andLeon Botstein.[29]Igor Stravinskywrote about his admiration for Czerny also as a composer: "As to Czerny, I have been appreciating the full-blooded musician in him more than the remarkable pedagogue."[30]

References

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Notes
  1. ^"Brief Chronicle of the Last Month".The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular.8(175): 114. 1 September 1857.JSTOR3369823.
  2. ^Czerny (1956), p. 302.
  3. ^Czerny (1956), pp. 302–305.
  4. ^Czerny (1956). p. 303
  5. ^Mitchell (1980)
  6. ^Thayer (1991), pp. 226–228.
  7. ^Thayer (1991), p. 368.
  8. ^cited in Thayer (1991), p. 227.
  9. ^Mitchell (1990), p. 139
  10. ^Thayer (1991), p. 679.
  11. ^Walker (1989), p. 72.
  12. ^Cohen, Aaron I. (1987).International Encyclopedia of Women Composers.Books & Music (USA).ISBN978-0-9617485-2-4.
  13. ^Mitchell (1980), p. 139.
  14. ^Cited in Walker (1989), p. 67.
  15. ^Walker (1989), pp. 72–73.
  16. ^Walker (1989), pp. 83–84.
  17. ^Rowland (1998), p. 165.
  18. ^Walker (1989), p. 73.
  19. ^Mitchell (1980), p. 140.
  20. ^Midgette, Anne (20 November 2004)."A Composer Emerges (Briefly) From His Mentor's Shadow".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved20 June2024.
  21. ^Czerny: String Quartets. Played by the Sheridan Ensemble. Capriccio 2016.
  22. ^Mitchell (1980), p. 141.
  23. ^Noorduin, Marten (August 2018)."Re-examining Czerny's and Moscheles's Metronome Marks for Beethoven's Piano Sonatas".Nineteenth-Century Music Review.15(2): 209–235.doi:10.1017/S1479409817000027.ISSN1479-4098.S2CID193737315.
  24. ^abLetters of Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, ed. Berthold Litzmann, 2 vols. New York: Longamnn, Green, 1927; rep., New York: Vienna House, 1973
  25. ^abAutograph in the Liszt archives of the Musik-Verein in Vienna.
  26. ^Rowland (1998), pp. 125–126.
  27. ^Loesser (1990), p. 145
  28. ^Kuerti (1997).
  29. ^Botstein (2004)
  30. ^inChronique de ma vie,ISBN978-2-207-25177-5)
Sources
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