Czerny for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer, and teacher who lived from 1791 to 1857. He was a student of Beethoven and the teacher of Liszt. He wrote more than 1,000 works, and hundreds of them are studies for piano students. His name is on the cover of practice books all over the world.

Quick facts

• Born: 1791, in Vienna, Austria
• Died: 1857, in Vienna, Austria
• Era: Classical and early Romantic
• Played: piano
• Known for: The School of Velocity, The Art of Finger Dexterity, and other books of piano studies

The life in short

Czerny’s father was a piano teacher from Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic. Carl played the piano at three and wrote his first pieces at seven. At nine, he played a Mozart concerto in public.

At ten, he was taken to play for Beethoven. He played one of Beethoven’s own sonatas. Beethoven took him as a student and taught him for about three years. The two stayed in touch for the rest of Beethoven’s life.

Czerny could play Beethoven’s piano music from memory. At 20, he was the soloist when Beethoven’s last piano concerto was first played in Vienna.

He did not like performing, and he gave it up while he was young. At 15, he began to teach, and he became one of the most sought-after piano teachers in Vienna. He often taught for ten or more hours a day and composed in the evenings.

He never married. He lived with his parents and worked without a break. When he died, he left much of his money to charity.

A link in a chain

Czerny stands between two giants.

Teacher	Student
Beethoven	Czerny
Czerny	Liszt

Liszt came to him as a boy of about ten. Czerny saw how gifted he was and taught him for free. Liszt never forgot it. Years later, he dedicated his hardest set of studies to his old teacher.

Read who taught whom and Liszt for kids.

The studies

A study, or étude, is a piece that trains one skill: fast scales, even fingers, a light wrist, or crossing the thumb under. Czerny wrote them by the hundred, from the first weeks of lessons to the hardest music a pianist can play.

Book	Who it is for
Practical Method for Beginners, Op. 599	Students in their first years
100 Progressive Studies, Op. 139	Students moving past the beginner books
The School of Velocity, Op. 299	Students ready for speed
The Art of Finger Dexterity, Op. 740	Advanced players

What the music sounds like

A Czerny study is short and busy. One hand runs up and down the keys while the other keeps time with chords. Then the hands swap jobs.

The studies are written to make the fingers quick, even, and strong, so that a player is ready for Beethoven and Chopin.

Czerny wrote other music too: symphonies, sonatas, and church music. Little of it is played today.

Pieces to play first

The first study from The School of Velocity, Op. 299. One minute of scales that race up and down while the left hand plays chords.

A study from Op. 599. Find a recording of the first ten. Each is a few lines long.

Variations on a theme by Rode, called “La Ricordanza.” A concert piece that shows what his own playing was like, with a sweet tune and glittering runs.

A joke about practicing

In The Carnival of the Animals, Saint-Saëns put pianists in the zoo. In “Pianists,” two players thump through scales and finger drills of the kind that Czerny wrote. See the Carnival of the Animals guide.

Things to do together

One skill at a time. Listen to a study. Ask your child what the fingers are practicing: scales, jumps, or repeated notes.

Slow, then fast. Tap five fingers on a table, one at a time, slow and even. Speed up a little each round.

The chain. Draw Beethoven, Czerny, and Liszt as three links. Add your child’s teacher and your child.

Hear the joke. Play “Pianists” from The Carnival of the Animals. Ask what is funny about it.

For piano families

• Where they fit. A Czerny étude from Op. 139 is an example on the étude list for RCM Level 2 piano, and another is an example for Level 6.
• Short and often. A study works best in small doses. A few minutes each day is the usual advice.
• Slow first. Speed comes from playing the notes at a slow, even pace and then raising the tempo a little at a time. The metronome for kids helps.
• One fact helps. “Czerny took lessons from Beethoven” can make a page of scales feel like part of a long story.

Read how to practice scales with kids.

Print and play

Track daily work on a weekly practice chart. Read composers in piano lesson books and Beethoven for kids.

For two more teachers who wrote for students, read Burgmüller for kids and Clementi for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.