Carl Czerny

Born

20 February 1791, ViennaSome older sources give 21 February

Died

15 July 1857, Vienna

Life

Czerny was born in Vienna in February 1791. He was taught by his father, by Antonio Salieri and, from 1800 to 1803, by Beethoven, who took him on after hearing him play and later had him teach his own nephew.

In 1819 the eight-year-old Franz Liszt was brought to him, and Czerny shaped Liszt's playing deeply. His other pupils included Theodor Leschetizky and Theodor Kullak. Apart from short trips he spent his whole life in Vienna, teaching and writing mostly music for teaching, more than 1,000 works in all. He died there on 15 July 1857.

Why play Czerny

Czerny's studies are still used to build fluent fingers. The Eight-Measure Exercises come from his Op. 821, 160 short exercises of eight bars each, published in 1852, for quickly learning the most useful figures and passages and for sight-reading. They use every major and minor key, and each one is a single, focused workout.

The Melodic Studies come from his Op. 840, 50 progressive exercises in all the major and minor keys, published in 1855, whose German title calls them new melodic practice pieces.

When Czerny lived