Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with 65,000 drawings and 1 million old master prints, as well as more modern graphic works and architectural drawings. Apart from the graphics collection the museum has acquired on permanent loan two significant collections of Impressionist and early 20th-century art, some of which will be on permanent display; the museum houses temporary exhibitions. The Albertina was erected on one of the last remaining sections of the fortifications of Vienna, the Augustinian Bastion; the Hofbauamt, built in the second half of the 17th century, stood in that location. In 1744 it was refurbished by the director of the Hofbauamt, Emanuel Teles Count Silva-Tarouca, to become his palace; the building was taken over by Duke Albert of Saxen-Teschen who used it as his residence. He brought his graphics collection there from Brussels, where he had acted as the governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.
He had the building extended by Louis Montoyer. Since the palace has bordered the Hofburg; the collection was expanded by Albert's successors. The collection was created by Duke Albert with the Genoese count Giacomo Durazzo, the Austrian ambassador in Venice. In 1776 the count presented nearly 1,000 pieces of art to his wife Maria Christina. Count Durazzo, the brother of Marcello Durazzo, the Doge of Genoa – "wanted to create a collection for posterity that served higher purposes than all others: education and the power of morality should distinguish his collection...." In the 1820s Archduke Charles, Duke Albert and Maria Christina's foster son, initiated further modifications to the building by Joseph Kornhäusel, which affected its interior decoration. After Archduke Charles, his son Archduke Albrecht Albrecht's nephew Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen lived in the building. In early 1919, ownership of both the building and the collection passed from the Habsburgs to the newly founded Republic of Austria.
In 1920 the collection of prints and drawings was united with the collection of the former imperial court library. The name Albertina was established in 1921. In March 1945, the Albertina was damaged by Allied bomb attacks; the building was rebuilt in the years after the war and was refurbished and modernized from 1998 to 2003. #Modifications of the exterior entrance sequence, including a signature roof by Hans Hollein were completed 2008, when the graphics collection reopened. In 2018, the Albertina acquired the Essl Collection of 1,323 contemporary artworks, including pieces by Alex Katz, Cindy Sherman, Georg Baselitz, Hermann Nitsch, Maria Lassnig. See Category:Collections of the Albertina, Vienna. Media related to Albertina, Vienna at Wikimedia Commons Official website Some pictures of the repository Audioguide of the introduction
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
Archduke Karl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I of Austria, the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination ignited World War I, grandfather of the last emperor, Charles I. He was born at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, his mother ensured he was raised a devout Roman Catholic by the Vienna Prince-archbishop Joseph Othmar Rauscher, a conviction that evolved into religious mania in his years. Though not interested in politics, the 20-year-old joined the Galician government of Count Agenor Romuald Gołuchowski and in 1855 accepted his appointment as Tyrolean stadtholder in Innsbruck, where he took his residence at Ambras Castle. However, he found his authority to exert power restricted by the Austrian cabinet of his cousin Archduke Rainer Ferdinand and Baron Alexander von Bach, he laid down the office upon the issue of the 1861 February Patent for a life as patron of the arts and sciences.
As the eldest surviving brother of the Emperor, Karl Ludwig, after the death of his nephew Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in 1889, became heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A newspaper article appeared shortly after the death of his nephew claiming that the Archduke had renounced his succession rights in favor of his eldest son Franz Ferdinand; this rumor proved to be false. Karl Ludwig married three times, his first wife, whom he married on 4 November 1856 at Dresden, was his first cousin Margaretha of Saxony, the daughter of Johann of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. She died on 15 September 1858 and they had no children, his second wife, whom he married by proxy on 16 October 1862 at Rome, in person on 21 October 1862 at Venice, was Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Maria Theresa of Austria. They had four children: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria he married Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin on 1 July 1900.
They had four children. Archduke Otto Franz of Austria he married Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony on 2 October 1886, they had two sons. Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria he married Bertha Czuber on 15 August 1909. Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria she married Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg on 24 January 1893, they had seven children. Maria Annunciata died on 4 May 1871, his third wife, whom he married on 23 July 1873 at Kleinheubach, was Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal, daughter of Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. They had two daughters: Archduchess Maria Annunziata of Austria. Abbess of the Theresia Convent in the Hradschin, Prague. Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria she married Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein on 20 April 1903, they had eight children. Karl Ludwig died of typhoid at Schönbrunn in Vienna returning from a journey to Palestine and Egypt after the consumption of contaminated Jordan waters, his widow, Maria Teresa died on 12 February 1944.
Austrian decorationsOrder of the Golden Fleece, Knight, 1852 Order of St. Stephen of Hungary, Grand Cross, 1859 Military Merit Medal on red ribbon Long Service Cross for Officers, 2nd ClassForeign decorations List of heirs to the Austrian throne Media related to Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
Sigismond Thalberg
Sigismond Thalberg was a composer and one of the most famous virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Sigismond Thalberg was born in Pâquis near Geneva, Switzerland, on 8 January 1812. According to legend, he was the illegitimate son of Prince Moritz Dietrichstein and Baroness Maria Julia Wetzlar von Plankenstern. However, according to his birth certificate, he was the son of Joseph Thalberg and Fortunée Stein who were both from Frankfurt-am-Main. Little is known about Thalberg's childhood and early youth, it is possible that his mother had brought him to Vienna at the age of 10. According to Thalberg's own account, he attended the first performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony on 7 May 1824 in the Kärntnerthortheater. There is no evidence as to Thalberg's early teachers. Baroness von Wetzlar, his mother, who according to Wurzbach was occupied with his education during his childhood and early youth, was a brilliant amateur pianist, it may be therefore. In spring 1826 Thalberg studied with Ignaz Moscheles in London.
Moscheles, according to a letter to Felix Mendelssohn of 14 August 1836, had the impression that Thalberg had reached a level at which no further help would be needed in order to become a great artist. Thalberg's first public performance in London was on 17 May 1826. In Vienna on 6 April 1827 he played the first movement, on 6 May 1827 the Adagio and the Rondo of Hummel's concerto in B Minor. After this, Thalberg performed in Vienna, his repertoire was classical, including concertos by Hummel and Beethoven. He performed chamber music. In the year 1828 his Op. 1, a fantasy on melodies from Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe, was published. In 1830 Thalberg met Frédéric Chopin in Vienna, their letters show their opinion. Further information can be found in the diary of the 10-year old Clara Wieck, she had heard Thalberg on 14 May 1830 at a concert. He had played his own Piano Concerto op. a fantasy of his own. Two days before, Clara had played the first solo of the 2nd Concerto of John Field to him, together with him, the first movement of a four handed Sonata of Hummel.
Her diary, edited by her father Friedrich Wieck, notes Thalberg as "very accomplished". His playing was clear and precise very strong and expressive. In the early 1830s Thalberg studied counterpoint under Simon Sechter; as a result, passages of canon and fugue can be found in some of Thalberg's fantasies of this time. An example is his Fantasy, Op. 12, on melodies from Bellini's opera Norma, which contains a march-theme and variations, a fugue on a lyrical theme. The fantasy was published in 1834 and became popular. Thalberg changed his composing style, reducing the counterpoint. Several works in his new style, among them the Deux Airs russes variés Op.17, were enthusiastically praised by Schumann. In November 1835 Thalberg arrived in Paris, he performed on 16 November 1835 at a private concert of the Austrian ambassador Count Rudolph Apponyi. On 24 January 1836 he took part in a concert of the "Society of the Paris Conservatoire concerts", playing his "Grande fantaisie" op.22. Thalberg was praised by many among them Rossini and Meyerbeer.
Chopin didn't share his fellow artists' enthusiasm. After hearing Thalberg play, in Vienna, Chopin wrote: "He plays splendidly. He's younger than I and pleases the ladies - makes potpourris on La Muette - produces his piano and forte with the pedal, not the hand - takes tenths as I do octaves and wears diamond shirt studs", his début at the Conservatoire concert was in the Revue et Gazette musicale of 31 January 1836, enthusiastically reviewed by Hector Berlioz. The Ménestrel of 13 March 1836 wrote: Moscheles, Chopin and Herz are and will always be for me great artists, but Thalberg is the creator of a new art which I do not know how to compare to anything that existed before him... Thalberg is not only the premier pianist of the world, he is an distinguished composer. On 16 April 1836 Thalberg gave his first solo concert in Paris, the success was again sensational. According to Rudolph Apponyi's diary, Thalberg made a profit of 10,000 Francs, a sum which no virtuoso had gained before from a single concert.
Liszt had heard of Thalberg's successes during the winter 1835–36 in Geneva, in spring 1836 in Lyon, in Paris. In his letter to Marie d'Agoult of 29 April 1836, he compared himself to the exiled Napoleon. In a review of 8 January 1837, in the Revue et Gazette musicale, Liszt controversially denigrated Thalberg's compositions. After Thalberg returned to Paris in the beginning of February 1837, a rivalry developed between him and Liszt. On 4 February Thalberg heard Liszt play in concert for the first time in his life. Thalberg was stupefied. While Liszt gave over a dozen concerts, Thalberg gave only one concert on 12 March 1837 in the Paris Conservatoire, a further concert on 2 April 1837. In addition, on 31 March 1837, both Liszt and Thalberg played at a benefit concert to raise money for Italian refugees. In May 1837 Thalberg gave a concert in London, following which The Athenaeum gave an enthusiastic review; such enthusiasm followed Thalberg throughout the following years. His fantasy op.33 on melodies from Rossini's opera Moïse became one of the most famous concert pieces of the 19th century, was still praised by Berlioz in his Memoirs.
The fantasy was published at end of March 1839 and in May 1839 studied
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz was a Czech nobleman and field marshal, a member of House of Radetzky in the Kingdom of Bohemia. He served as chief of the general staff in the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy during the period of the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards began military reforms. Radetzky is best known for the victories at the Battles of Custoza and Novara during the First Italian War of Independence, he was immortalized by Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March. Radetzky was born into a noble family of Czech origin at Chateau Třebnice near Sedlčany in Bohemia. Orphaned at an early age, he was educated by his grandfather, after the count's death, at the Theresa Academy at Vienna; the academy was dissolved during his first year's residence in 1785, Radetzky became a cadet in the Austrian Army. The following year he became an officer, in 1787 was promoted to first lieutenant in a cuirassier regiment, he served as an adjutant to both Count von Lacy and Field Marshal von Laudon during the Austro-Turkish War of 1787–1791, in the Austrian Netherlands from 1792 to 1795.
In 1798 he married Countess Francesca von Strassoldo Grafenberg, from Carniola. They had three daughters. Radetzky however had a longstanding Italian mistress, named Meregalli, with whom he had eight children, all of whom he recognized as his. In 1795 Radetzky fought on the Rhine; the following year he served with Johann Beaulieu against Napoleon in Italy, but disliked the indecisive "cordon" system of warfare which Count von Lacy had instituted and other Austrian generals imitated. His personal courage was conspicuous. At the Battle of Fleurus he led a party of cavalry through the French lines to discover the fate of Charleroi, at Valeggio sul Mincio in 1796, with a few hussars, he rescued Beaulieu from the enemy. Promoted to major, he took part in Dagobert Wurmser's Siege of Mantua campaign, which ended in the fall of that fortress; as lieutenant-colonel and colonel he displayed skill in the battles of Trebbia and Novi. At the Battle of Marengo, as colonel on the staff of Melas, he was hit by five bullets, after endeavouring on the previous evening to bring about modifications in the plan suggested by the "scientific" Anton von Zach.
In 1801 Radetzky was made a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. In 1805, on the march to Ulm, he received news of his promotion to major-general and his assignment to a command in Italy under the Archduke Charles of Austria, he thus took part in the failed campaign of Caldiero. Peace provided a short respite, which he spent in teaching the art of war. In 1809 he led a brigade in V Corps during the Battle of Eckmühl. Promoted lieutenant field marshal, he commanded a division in IV Corps at the Battle of Wagram. In 1810 he was created a Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa and became Inhaber of the 5th Radetzky Hussars. From 1809 to 1812, as chief of the general staff, he was active in reorganizing the army and its tactical system, unable to carry out the reforms he desired owing to the opposition of the Treasury, he resigned his position. In 1813 he was Schwarzenberg's chief of staff and had considerable influence on the councils of the Allied sovereigns and generals. Langenau, the quartermaster-general of the Grand Army, found him an indispensable assistant, he had a considerable share in planning the Leipzig campaign.
He won praise for his tactical skills in the battles of Arcis-sur-Aube. He entered Paris with the allied sovereigns in March 1814, returned with them to the Congress of Vienna, where he appears to have acted as an intermediary between Metternich and Tsar Alexander I of Russia, when the two were not on speaking terms. During the succeeding years of peace he disappeared from public view, he resumed his functions as chief of staff, but his ardent ideas for reforming the army came to nothing in the face of the general war-weariness and desire to "let well enough alone." His zeal added to the number of his enemies, in 1829, after twenty years as lieutenant field marshal, it was proposed to place him on the retired list. The emperor, unwilling to go so far as this, promoted him general of cavalry and shelved him by making him governor of a fortress, but soon afterwards the Restoration settlement of Europe was shaken by fresh upheavals, Radetzky was brought back into the field of war again. He took part under Frimont in the campaign against the Papal States insurgents, succeeded that general in the chief command of the Austrian army in Italy in 1834.
In 1836, Radetzky was promoted to full field marshal. He was now seventy, but still displayed the vigor and zeal of his youth in the training and discipline of the army he commanded, but here too he was in advance of his time, the government not only disregarded his suggestions and warnings but refused the military the money that would have enabled the finest army it possessed to take the field at a moment's notice. Thus the events of 1848 in Italy, which gave the old field marshal his place in history among the great commanders, found him, in the beginning, not indeed unprepared but handicapped in the struggle with Charles Albert's army and the insurgents in Milan and elsewhere. By falling back to the Quadrilatero and there, rebuffing one opponent after another, he was able to spin out time until reinforcements arrived, thenceforward up to the final triumph at the Battle of Novar
Biedermeier
The Biedermeier period refers to an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848, during which the middle class grew in number, arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the time of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and ended with the onset of the European Revolutions of 1848. Although the term itself is a historical reference, it is used to denote the artistic styles that flourished in the fields of literature, the visual arts and interior design; the Biedermeier period does not refer to the era as a whole, but to a particular mood and set of trends that grew out of the unique underpinnings of the time in Central Europe. There were two driving forces for the development of the period. One was the growing urbanization and industrialization leading to a new urban middle class, which created a new kind of audience for the arts; the other was the political stability prevalent under Klemens Wenzel von Metternich following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The effect was for artists and society in general to concentrate on the domestic and the non-political.
Writers and musicians began to stay in safer territory, the emphasis on home life for the growing middle-class meant a blossoming of furniture design and interior decorating. The term "Biedermeier" appeared first in literary circles in the form of a pseudonym, Gottlieb Biedermaier, used by the country doctor Adolf Kussmaul and lawyer Ludwig Eichrodt in poems that the duo had published in the Munich journal Fliegende Blätter; the verses parodied the people of the era, namely Samuel Friedrich Sauter, a primary teacher and sort of amateurish poet, as depoliticized and petit-bourgeois. The name was constructed from the titles of two poems—"Biedermanns Abendgemütlichkeit" and "Bummelmaiers Klage" —which Joseph Victor von Scheffel had published in 1848 in the same magazine; as a label for the epoch, the term has been used since around 1900. Due to the strict control of publication and official censorship, Biedermeier writers concerned themselves with non-political subjects, like historical fiction and country life.
Political discussion was confined to the home, in the presence of close friends. Typical Biedermeier poets are Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Adelbert von Chamisso, Friedrich Halm, Eduard Mörike, Wilhelm Müller, the last two of whom have well-known musical settings by Hugo Wolf and Franz Schubert respectively. Adalbert Stifter is a novelist and short story writer whose work reflects the concerns of the Biedermeier movement with his novel, Der Nachsommer; as historian Carl Schorske puts it, "To illustrate and propagate his concept of Bildung, compounded of Benedictine world piety, German humanism, Biedermeier conventionality, Stifter gave to the world his novel Der Nachsommer". A “Biedermann” is characterized as a conservative unimaginative middle-class personality, content but vulnerable to upset when disturbed by unfavorable social or economic conditions. Biedermeier was an influential German style of furniture design that evolved during the years 1815–1848; the period extended into Scandinavia, as disruptions due to numerous states that made up the German nation were not unified by rule from Berlin until 1871.
These post-Biedermeier struggles, influenced by historicism, created their own styles. Throughout the period, emphasis was kept upon clean lines and minimal ornamentation consistent with Biedermeier's basis in utilitarian principles; as the period progressed, the style moved from the early rebellion against Romantic-era fussiness to ornate commissions by a rising middle class, eager to show their newfound wealth. The idea of clean lines and utilitarian postures would resurface in the 20th century, continuing into the present day. Middle- to late-Biedermeier furniture design represents a heralding towards historicism and revival eras long sought for. Social forces originating in France would change the artisan-patron system that achieved this period of design, first in the Germanic states and into Scandinavia; the middle class growth originated in the English industrial revolution and many Biedermeier designs owe their simplicity to Georgian lines of the 19th century, as the proliferation of design publications reached the loose Germanic states and the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The Biedermeier style was a simplified interpretation of the influential French Empire Style of Napoleon I, which introduced the romance of ancient Roman Empire styles, adapting these to modern early 19th-century households. Biedermeier furniture used locally available materials such as cherry and oak woods rather than the expensive timbers such as imported mahogany. Whilst this timber was available near trading ports such as Antwerp and Stockholm, it was taxed whenever it passed through another principality; this made mahogany expensive to use and much local cherry and pearwood was stained to imitate the more expensive timbers. Stylistically, the furniture was elegant, its construction utilised the ideal of truth through material, something that influenced the Bauhaus and Art Deco periods. Many unique designs were created in Vienna because a young apprentice was examined on his use of material, originality of design, quality of cabinet work, before being admitted to the league of approved master cabinetmakers.
Furniture from the earlier period was the most neoclassical in inspiration. It supplied the most fantastic forms which the second half of the period lacked, being influenced by the many style publications from England. Biedermeier furniture was the first style in the world that emanated from the growing middle class
Theresianum
Theresianum is a private boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1746 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. In 1614, the Habsburgs purchased Angerfeldhof, a farmstead located just outside Vienna, renovated it. Though the residence was burned down in the course of the Battle of Vienna in 1683, a bigger and more glamorous New Favorita was rebuilt over the following decades. Three Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire - Leopold I, Joseph I and Charles VI - resided in the castle; when in 1740 Emperor Charles VI died in New Favorita, his eldest daughter Maria Theresa decided not to enter the building again. In 1746, Maria Theresa sold the castle to the Jesuits for 30,000 guilders in order to transform it into an educational institution, preparing talented young men for civil service; as stipulated in two founding letters, the newly established “imperial academy” under the auspices of Maria Theresa was based on the principles of strict selection, highest pedagogic and scientific standards and instruction in “modern” foreign languages.
In 1773, after Maria Theresa’s son Joseph II had dissolved the religious order of the Society of Jesus, Theresianum was temporarily closed. More than 20 years in 1797, Emperor Francis II re-opened Theresianum under the direction of the Piarists, he completed the building’s present-day neo-classical façade and built ancillary facilities including a swim school. After the 1848 revolution in different parts of Europe, Franz’s successor, Franz Joseph I of Austria, decided to open admission to “sons of the bourgeoisie” and to put the school under public regulation. In 1883, the Consular Academy, the world’s oldest school of international relations, was relocated to New Favorita, it was housed in a separate wing of the building until 1905, when it was moved again to a house in Boltzmanngasse, which houses the U. S. embassy today. By the end of World War I, most of the school’s properties in Austria and other parts of the Habsburg monarchy were sold. In 1938, after the “Anschluss” to Nazi Germany, Theresianum was transformed into a National Political Institute of Education.
During World War II, the school was so destroyed that it could only be re-opened following extensive renovation work in 1957. In 1964, the Diplomatic Academy was re-opened as a successor of the Consular Academy in New Favorita, its graduates include former U. N. Secretary General and Austrian president Kurt Waldheim, as well as European ministers and senior public officials. At Theresianum, co-education was introduced at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s – the first female instructors started teaching in 1988, while the first female students were admitted one year in 1989. Based on Maria Theresa’s founding letters, Theresianum today strives to educate students to become “self-confident Austrians as well as Europeans with a global outlook.” By embracing the principles of tolerance and humanity, the school endeavors to prepare its graduates to take on “responsible roles in society.” Theresianum’s principles include academic excellence, social responsibility and international achievement.
Before World War I, instruction in Hungarian was mandatory, while learning English, Italian, Bohemian, Serbo-Croatian and Romanian was optional. Today, the school’s curriculum requires students to learn three spoken foreign languages as well as Latin. Optional coursework includes Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Chinese. Language exchange programs are offered to students in the 7th grades. International students from age 15 to 18 can apply for three, five or 10-month study programs at Theresianum. Theresianum sustains a network of 18 international partner schools, including: Belvedere College, Ireland Casterton School for Girls, England Colégio Campo de Flores, Portugal Collége Joffre, France Ecole Alsacienne, France Episcopal High School, USA Gymnasium Ottobrunn, Germany Gymnázium Jána Papánka, Slovakia Lancaster Royal Grammar School, England Lycée Sainte Agnès, France Musashi Junior & Senior High School, Japan Rugby School, England Tamagawa School, Japan Based on the Theresianum Enrichment Model, students are offered a set of extra-curricular activities that complement mandatory coursework.
These classes include special rhetoric and presentation seminars, community service and business projects, as well as tailored career advice services. Moreover, Theresianum participates in bi-annually organized Model European Parliament sessions that prepare students for leadership roles in the European Union. By 1910, a wealth of physical education classes, including swimming, dancing and fencing was offered to students to supplement their academic curriculum. Today, Theresianum offers weekly sports courses across 15 disciplines, organizes three dedicated sports weeks and operates a school-owned ski club. Theresianum operates as a Gymnasium.
Carl Czerny
Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer and pianist of Czech origin whose vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works. His books of studies for the piano are still used in piano teaching. Carl Czerny was baptized in St. Leopold parish, his parents were of Czech origin. His parents spoke the Czech language with him. Czerny came from a musical family: his grandfather was a violinist at Nymburk, near Prague, his father, was an oboist and pianist; 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 the third partition of Poland prompted the family to return to Vienna in 1795. As a child prodigy, Czerny began composing at age seven, his first piano teacher was his father, who taught him Bach and Mozart. He began performing piano recitals in his parents' home. Czerny made his first public performance in 1800 playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor. 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 Adelaide. Beethoven accepted him as a pupil. Czerny remained under Beethoven's tutelage until sporadically thereafter, he admired Beethoven's facility at improvisation, his expertise at fingering, the rapidity of his scales and trills, his restrained demeanour while performing. Czerny's autobiography and letters give many important references to Beethoven during this period. Czerny was the first to report symptoms of Beethoven's deafness, years before the matter became public: "I noticed with that visual quickness peculiar to children that he had cotton which seemed to have been steeped in a yellowish liquid, in his ears."Czerny was selected by Beethoven for the premiere of the latter's Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1806 and, at the age of 21, in February 1812, Czerny gave the Vienna premiere of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor". Czerny wrote that his musical memory enabled him to play all the Beethoven works by heart without exception and, during the years 1804–1805, he used to play these works in this manner at Prince Lichnowsky's palace once or twice a week, with the Prince calling out only the desired opus numbers.
Czerny maintained a relationship with Beethoven throughout his life, gave piano lessons to Beethoven's nephew Carl. At the age of fifteen, Czerny began a successful teaching career. Basing his method on the teaching of Beethoven and Muzio Clementi, Czerny taught up to twelve lessons a day in the homes of Viennese nobility. His'star' pupils included Theodor Döhler, Stephen Heller, Sigismond Thalberg, Leopoldine Blahetka and Ninette de Belleville. In 1819, the father of Franz Liszt brought his son to Czerny, who recalled:He was a pale, sickly-looking child, while playing, swayed about on the stool as if drunk... His playing was...irregular, 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. Liszt became Czerny's most famous pupil, he trained the child with the works of Beethoven, Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Sebastian Bach. The Liszt family lived in the same street in Vienna as Czerny, so impressed by the boy that he taught him free of charge.
Liszt was to repay this confidence by introducing the music of Czerny at many of his Paris recitals. Shortly before Liszt's Vienna concert of 13 April 1823, Czerny arranged, with some difficulty the introduction of Liszt to Beethoven. Beethoven was sufficiently impressed with the young Liszt to give him a kiss on the forehead. Liszt remained close to Czerny, in 1852 his Études d'exécution transcendante were published with a dedication to Czerny. Czerny left Vienna only to make trips to Italy and England. After 1840, Czerny devoted himself 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.. Czerny died in Vienna at the age of 66, he never had no near relatives. His large fortune he willed to charities, his housekeeper and the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, after making provision for the performance of a Requiem mass in his memory.
Czerny composed a large number of pieces. Czerny's works include not only piano music but masses and choral music, concertos, 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 as The School of Velocity and The Art of Finger Dexterity. He was one of the first composers to use étude for a title. Czerny's body of works include arrangements of many popular opera themes; the majority of the pieces called by Czerny. The manuscripts are held by Vienna's Society for the Friends of Music, to which Czerny willed his estate. Czerny's piano sonatas show themselves as an intermediate stage between the works of Beethoven and Liszt, they blend the tra
