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By CARL CZERNY
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Recollections From My Life 303
Kozeluch, etc.) and received the visits of many fellow countrymen whom
he knew professionally, e.g. Wanhall, Gelinek,1 Lipavsky,1 etc. I was
approximately six months old when he took a job as piano teacher at
a Polish estate. We promptly moved to Poland, which is the scene of
my first childhood memories. I am supposed to have been a very lively
child and to have played a few little pieces on the piano when I was
three. Originally, my parents were to have remained in Poland for
twelve years, but since the last Polish partition brought with it unrest
and unsettled conditions, which would have made a continued stay
very disagreeable, my father decided to forgo the advantages of his con-
tract and c. 1795 moved, back to Vienna, where he remained for the
rest of his life. His study of Bach's works and others like them had helped
my father to develop a good technique and a proper approach to the
fortepiano, and this circumstance had a beneficial influence on me. My
father had no intention whatever of making a superficial virtuoso out
of me; rather, he strove to develop my sight-reading ability through
continuous study of new works and thus to develop my musicianship.
When I was barely ten I was already able to play cleanly and fluently
nearly everything by Mozart, Clementi, and the other piano composers
of the time; owing to my excellent musical memory I mostly performed
without the music. Whatever money my father could set aside from the
scant pay for his lessons was spent on music for me, and since I was
carefully isolated from other children and thus was under my parents'
constant supervision, diligence became a habit. Without my father's spe-
cial encouragement I began, when I was only seven, to put down some
ideas of my own; I should add that they were at least written correctly
enough that in later years when I received instruction in thorough-bass
I found little occasion to change anything.
At that time during the last years of the past century the fol-
lowing were the most famous pianists in Vienna:
Wolfl,* renowned for his virtuosity;
Joseph Gelinek (Abbe), 1758-1825, of Czech origin, icttled in Vienna in the
early 1790's. He was much appreciated by Mozart, who knew him in Prague.
Gelinek was on good terms with the young Beethoven and it was he who is
supposed to have arranged for Beethoven's studies with Johann Schenk. In later
years the much sought after piano teacher became estranged from Beethoven.
1
Joseph Lipavsky (1772-1810), a Bohemian pianist and composer active in
Vienna.
* Joseph WSlfl, 1773-1812, a student of the two Mozarts and the two Haydns,
had such a reputation for improvisation that his skill was compared to Mozart's
and Beethoven's.
304 The Musical Quarterly
Gelinek, a general favorite because of the dazzling elegance of his
technique as well as for his variations;
Lipavsky, a fine sight-reader and celebrated for his performances
of Bach fugues.
I still remember how one day Gelinek told my father that he was
invited to a party that evening where he was to oppose a foreign virtuoso
in a pianistic duel. "Ill fix him," Gelinek added. Next day my father
asked Gelinek about the outcome of the battle. Gelinek looked quite
crestfallen and said: "Yesterday was a day I'll remember! That young
fellow must be in league with the devil. I've never heard anybody play
like that! I gave him a theme to improvise on, and I assure you I've
never even heard Mozart improvise so admirably. Then he played some
of his own compositions, which are marvelous really wonderful and
he manages difficulties and effects at the keyboard that we never even
dreamed of." "I say, what's his name?" asked my father with some
astonishment. 'He is a small, ugly, swarthy young fellow, and seems to
have a wilful disposition," answered Gelinek; "Prince Iichnowsky
brought him to Vienna from Germany to let him study composition with
Haydn, ATbrechtsberger, and Salieri, and his name is Beethoven."
That was the first time I heard that name, and I immediately be-
sought my father to get Beethoven's compositions. Soon I had every-
thing by him that was then available the first three trios and sonatas,
some variations, his Adelaide, etc.; and since I already knew so many
fine works by other composers, I soon learned, within the limitations
of my age, to appreciate the beauty and originality of Beethoven's com-
positions. I must add that my understanding was furthered by another
circumstance. At that time an older man by the name of Krumpholz,4
who was the brother of the inventor of the pedal harp, came to see us
almost every day. He was a violinist and member of the court opera
orchestra; at the same time he had the greatest enthusiasm for music,
which was so extreme that it knew no bounds. Nature had given him a
high degree of true and subtle perceptivity for the beautiful in music so
that even without great technical knowledge he was able to evaluate
any composition with considerable acumen and thus to anticipate the
judgment of the connoisseurs. As soon as the young Beethoven had ap-
peared on the scene, Krumpholz attached himself to him with such
Wenzel Krumpholz, c 1750-1817, brother of the famous harpist, Johann
Baptist, was one of Beethoven'i oldest friends. Besides teaching him the violin,
he hovered over the composer like an adoring uncle.
Recollections From My life 305
worshipful tenacity that he quickly became his friend, spending almost
the whole day with him, and that Beethoven, who usually was very
secretive about his musical projects, told him about all his ideas, asked
him to listen to every new composition, and improvised daily for him.
And although Beethoven often made fun of the ingenuous ecstasy that
would seize Krumpholz on such occasions and called him his fool, he
was nonetheless moved by the loyalty with which he defended Beethoven's
cause against his numerous enemies regardless of the many bitter feuds
this involved. (At that time the general public completely condemned
Beethoven's works, and all the followers of the old Mozart-Haydn school
opposed him bitterly.) It was this man, then, for whom I had to play
Beethoven's works every day, and, although he knew absolutely nothing
about piano-playing, he was obviously able to teD me a good bit about
such matters as tempo, manner of performance, intended effect, char-
acter, etc., since he had often heard them performed by Beethoven him-
self and had in most cases witnessed the process of composition. His
enthusiasm soon proved infectious and I soon became a Beethoven wor-
shipper like him, memorized all his works, and, considering my age,
played them with as much proficiency as enthusiasm. Krumpholz also
used to tell me what new compositions Beethoven was working on and
he would sing or play on his violin the themes he bad heard there in the
morning. In this way I always found out much earlier than anyone
else what Beethoven was working on and thus was amazed to learn
later how long Beethoven would labor over his compositions, how it
often took him several years before he would publish them, and how in
composing new works he would utilize motifs that had come to him
many years before. I might add that our friendship with Krumpholz
lasted many years, until his death in 1819.
My father was not wealthy enough to engage teachers for me, but
several of my father's pupils were young students and apprentices who
were too poor to pay for their lessons and instead contributed to my
education as part-time tutors. One of them taught me Italian, which I
spoke fluently when I was only ten. Another gave me lessons in French,
a third in German (my parents had spoken Bohemian with me), a
fourth guided my great penchant for literature, etc. Most of these young
men later achieved good careers as civil servants; some of them are still
living, eg. the mayor of NeustadL Thus it happened that I did not even
think about the kind of things children ordinarily do, never missed the
friendship of other boys, and never went out without my father.
At that age (10-12) I got all the usual children's illnesses (smallpox,
306 The Musical Quarterly
measles, etc.). Each time I was so violently ill that my health, which had
been robust up till then, remained considerably impaired for many years
thereafter, a state that was not improved by my domestic activity.
Since my father would never let me take the long walk into the city
alone, he always took me to Beethoven himself with the result that he
lost many lessons, especially since it often happened that Beethoven
was in the midst of composing and therefore excused himself. So it came
that after a while the lessons were interrupted for a rather long period
and I was again on my own.
At that time (1802 ff.) I made the very useful acquaintance of Gov-
ernment Councillor Hess (a friend of Mozart's and dementi's), who not
only owned a valuable library of music by the old classical composers,
but allowed me to copy from it anything I wanted. In this way I acquired
Sebastian Bach's fugues, Scarlatti's sonatas, and many another work
308 The Musical Quarterly
that was hard to get at that time. In 1802 Beethoven gave his first public
concert in the theater, where he played his First Concerto in C major,
had his first two symphonies performed, which received tremendous ap-
plause, and finally improvised on the theme Gott erhalte Franz den
Kaiser. I was especially interested in the symphonies and I was so curious
to find out how such orchestral works are written that I conceived the
notion of making my own scores of these works from the parts, so that
pretty carry in my life I got a fairly correct concept of instrumentation.
I enjoyed this type of work so much that I applied the same procedure
to several Haydn and Mozart symphonies (something far more useful
for the student than to study a ready-made score). At the same time
this activity endowed me with great skill in speedy writing of musical
notation, a skill that came in very handy later on.
For several years ( c 1801-04) my father and I visited Mozart's
widow; every Saturday there were musical soirees at her house, where
Mozart's younger son (a pupil of Streichcr's)* gave very skillful per-
formances. On one occasion the party was a good bit larger than usual,
and among the many elegant persons I was especially fascinated by a
very striking young man. His unpleasant, common-looking face, which
twitched constantly, and his utterly tasteless clothing (a light-gray coat,
a long scarlet vest, and blue trousers) seemed to indicate that he was
some village schoolmaster. But the many valuable diamond rings he wore
on almost all fingers provided a most peculiar contrast As usual there
was music, and finally this young man (he might have been somewhat
older than twenty) was asked to play. And what an accomplished pianist
he turned out to be! Even though I had already had so many oppor-
tunities to hear Gelinek, Lipavsky, Wolfl, and even Beethoven, the play-
ing of this homely fellow seemed like a revelation. Never before had I
hard such novel and dazzling difficulties, such cleanness and elegance in
performance, nor such intimate and tender expression, nor even so much
good taste in improvisation; when later he performed a few of Mozart's
sonatas with violin (he was accompanied by Krommcr)" these compo-
sitions, which I had known for a long time, seemed like a completely new
What might be called the golden age of music in Vienna was due
primarily to the weekly morning concerts in the Augarten Hall during
the summer and to the quartet performances in the winter. In the
former the symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and in the
latter their quartets and quintets were performed to perfection, and I
shall never forget the impression that the premiere of any of the great
Beethoven works made on me and on everybody in general. The general
11
Ferdinand Ries, 1784-1838, pianist, author, and a prolific if quite undis-
tinguished composer, was not a relative of Beethoven, only a pupil and fellow-
citizen from Bonn.
Recollections From My life 311
reaction to the Eroica Symphony, however, which, written in 1803, re-
ceived its first performance in 1804, was at first not at all favorable. It
constitutes the transition from the Haydn-Mozart manner to the style
that later became specifically Beethoven's. It was considered too long,
elaborate, incomprehensible, and much too noisy.
u
Cxerny'i literary and scholarly activity was no lesi amazing than his musical
productivity. He was a good linguist, though largely self-taught, passionately in-
terested in the literature of classical antiquity, in the natural sciences, and notably
in the history of all periods. A large history of music, entitled Umriss dtr ganztn
Musikgtschichtt, was published in 1851 by Schott in Mainz, also in Italian by
Ricordi, but numerous other studies, essays, and plays ( ! ) , translations from the
classic authors, etc., remain in manuscript.
312 The Musical Quarterly
SECOND PERIOD (1806-1818; I.E. AGE 15 TO 27)
I was fifteen when in 1806 my own teaching began in earnest, and
it so happened that I got several talented students, whose private recitals
made an uncommonly fine impression. In this way, I immediately got a
considerable reputation as a teacher, and since all the hours of the day
were soon taken up with teaching, I was able to raise my fee. As I
naturally turned over all my earnings to my parents (my upbringing
having accustomed me to receive all of life's necessities from my parents),
our domestic situation soon began to improve; this circumstance in turn
spurred me on together with my father gradually to secure for us a more
comfortable future. In 1806 Krumpholz, who remained our constant
friend, gave me a theme he had composed himself. To surprise him I
composed of my own accord and without any outside help 20 Variations
concertantes for piano and violin on this theme. Although I did not play
the violin myself, constant listening to quartets had given me a fairly
good knowledge of how to write for the instrument. I tried out the
variations with Mayseder,u who even then was already friendly towards
me; and repeated performances caused such unusual approbation that
there was a general clamor for their publication, which was undertaken
by the new art and music firm of Signi:Steiner; I received 60 fl. from
them, and for a long time my composition sold welL Although I knew
very little theory then, the variations were written so correctly that no-
body would believe that I had composed them without assistance. They
appeared in 1806 as my Op. 1. At the same time, however, I began to
study Albrechtsberger's book on thorough-bass, and old WanhaD, too,
occasionally gave me some useful hints in this matter. But since soon
thereafter I found myself overloaded with an increasing number of stu-
dents, I had no time to devote myself to composing with the necessary
concentration and seriousness.
One morning in 1819 (shortly after the Belleville girl had left us) a
man brought a small boy about eight years of age to me and asked me
to let that little fellow play for me. He was a pale, delicate-looking child
and while playing swayed on the chair as if drunk so that I often thought
he would fall to the floor. Moreover, his playing was completely ir-
14
Thii prodigious output wai bound to evoke sarcastic comments from other
musicians. John Field was convinced that Czerny manufactured models of passages,
turns, and cadenzas which were carefully filed in the pigeonholes of a cupboard for
further use whenever the need arose for a suitable chunk of music. But such
derisive judgments, which strangely resemble the bitter diatribes directed against
Eugene Scribe, 01011/1 contemporary, and famed for his libretto and play factory,
fail to take account of the sincerity and genuine devotion of this composer. Czerny
was a gifted musician and had obvious talent as a composer, but he was the victim
of bourgeois frugality, sobriety, orderliness, and industry carried to the most
fantastic
Recollections From My Life 315
regular, careless, and confused, and he had so little knowledge of correct
fingering that he threw his fingers over the keyboard in an altogether
arbitrary fashion. Nevertheless, I was amazed by the talent with which
Nature had equipped him. I gave him a few things to sight-read, which
he did, purely by instinct, but for that very reason in a manner that
revealed that Nature herself had here created a pianist. He made the
same impression when I acceded to his father's wish and gave him a
theme on which to improvise. Without the least bit of acquired knowl-
edge of harmony he yet managed to convey a feeling of inspiration in
his performance. The father told me that his name was Liszt, that he
was a minor official at the court of Prince Esterhazy, and that up to
that time he himself had taught his son; he was now asking me whether
I would take charge of his little boy beginning the following year when
he would come to Vienna. Of course I gladly assented and, by showing
him scale exercises, etc., also instructed him how to continue the little
boy's training in the interim. About a year later Liszt and his son came
to Vienna and moved to the same street where we lived; since I had
little time during the day, I devoted almost every evening to the young
boy. Never before had I had so eager, talented, or industrious a student.
Since I knew from numerous experiences that geniuses whose mental
gifts are ahead of their physical strength tend to slight solid technique,
it seemed necessary above all to use the first months to regulate and
strengthen his mechanical dexterity in such a way that he could not pos-
sibly slide into any bad habits in later years. Within a short time he
played the scales in all keys with a masterful fluency made possible by
a natural digital equipment especially well suited for piano-playing.
Through intensive study of Clementi's sonatas (which will always re-
main the best school for the pianist, if one knows how to study them in
his spirit) I instilled in him for the first time a firm feeling for rhythm
and taught him beautiful touch and tone, correct fingering, and proper
musical phrasing, even though these compositions at first struck the
lively and always extremely alert boy as rather dry.
In 1827 I lost my mother and five years later (1832) my father, and
was thus left all alone, since I have no relatives whatever.