Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist and composer who is remembered for his several volumes of instructional piano music. He was a prolific composer of over 1,000 pieces in every genre including vocal, chamber, and sacred music. He was born in 1791 in Vienna to a musical family. His father was an oboist, organist, and singer, and he also taught piano lessons and worked as an instrument repairman. By the age of three, Czerny was learning the piano from his father, and he began composing when he was seven. His father also taught other children in the community, and their parents taught Czerny in exchange. Through this system, he received instruction in speaking German, French, and Italian, and violin lessons from Wenzel Krumpholz. By the age of ten, Czerny was already a refined pianist and could play works by Clementi and Mozart. His teacher, Krumpholz, recognized the boy's talent and knew that he would benefit from some more advanced studies. He arranged for Czerny to audition for Beethoven, which led to several lessons with him per week. In 1802 Beethoven had to discontinue the lessons so he could spend more time composing, but they remained close friends. In the 1800s Czerny was known as a virtuoso pianist, and a Beethoven specialist. He also had an excellent memory and memorized all of Beethoven's piano works. However, he decided against pursuing a career as a performer and instead chose to devote himself to composing and teaching. In his teens he began teaching some of his father's more advanced students. Eventually he taught 12 lessons per day and composed in the evenings, and he maintained this schedule for 21 years. From 1821 to 1823 he taught his most well-known student, Franz Liszt. While Czerny wasn't initially impressed with Liszt's knowledge of composition and form, he described the boy as "talented, eager, and industrious." As a composer, Czerny had become very popular, and publishers were eager to print his works. In 1836 he stopped teaching so he would have more time for composing. Regarding his personal life, he resided with his parents until they passed away, and he never married or had any known romantic relationships. He chose to devote all of his energy into composing and produced a staggering worklist of over 1,000 pieces. By the 1840s he had accumulated a sizeable estate through his success as a composer, but his physical health was deteriorating. Czerny continued composing until the early 1850s, and he passed away in 1857 in Vienna. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi