The name of Carl Czerny is engraved in the common memory of piano students of all times: some will cherish him as their technical mentor, some will still shudder with horror and disgust at his gruesome technical exercises, a drill-master if ever there was one. Czerny was a prolific composer, and pupil of Beethoven. He goes into history as the composer of thousands of piano studies, to develop the technique of the pupils. Played at the right speed (Czerny’s original metronome marks!) these short works are delightful, brilliant gems, full of sparkling virtuosity and wit.
Franz Liszt was a pupil of Czerny. Liszt was the giant of the keyboard, who developed the technique of his master into a dazzling pianistic universe, which is shown best in his Études d’execution transcendante, indeed surpassing everything what was written before by light-years. These two composers, master and pupil, are united in this double-CD, offering a fascinating insight into the development of piano technique. Fred Oldenburg plays the Liszt on a grand piano of Erard.
