CZERNY Carl

CZERNY Carl (Vienna (Leopoldstadt), 21 February 1791 – Vienna, 15 July 1857) was born into a family of Bohemian (Czech) origins. He was taught piano by his father before taking lessons from Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Czerny was a child prodigy, making his first appearance in public in 1800 playing a Mozart piano concerto. Later, he gave the Vienna premiere of L.v. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor in 1812.

Carl Czerny quickly took to teaching and by the age of 15, he was already a sought after instructor. He eventually instructed Franz Liszt, among many others. Liszt later dedicated his twelve Transcendental Etudes to Czerny, who was one of the first composers to use étude ("study") for a title. 

His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works (up to Op. 861), and a large number of symphonies, concertos, sonatas and string quartets. Today he is known as a composer almost exclusively because of the large number of didactic piano pieces he wrote. Czerny, a devout Catholic, also composed many religious pieces, including a number of Masses and Requiems.

Carl Czerny wrote (ca. 1827) his piano transcription of W.A. Mozart's Requiem (KV 626) for two players (four-hand (one) piano), enabling him to retain the extent of the score, if sacrificing timbral character and ASTRUM Music Publications prepared and published its first modern-day edition in 2011.