Carl Czerny: In the Shadow of Beethoven‪.‬

HE was only about eight years old when his father first took him to Beethoven, yet he so impressed the master that Beethoven insisted on teaching him. How fortunate, one would imagine, for a young man to have the opportunity of being in close contact with such a unique, overwhelming intellect and personality as Beethoven - an exemplary role model of the deepest artistry, relentlessly striving to explore his soul and deepen his understanding of art. Czerny was an extraordinary child prodigy. Wenzel Czerny, the boy's father, was a piano teacher himself, but hardly the typical prodigy parent. Beethoven once complained that the father was not strict enough, to which Wenzel replied, "Oh Mr Beethoven, but he is our only child." He did not have his heart set on Carl making a virtuoso career, and in fact Czerny never did embark on country-hopping concert tours as did Mozart and so many others. The fact that he did little performing and no touring abroad (he did visit Liszt in Paris) may be one reason why he did not make a lasting impact as a composer.