Czerny and the Emperor Concerto

[Hofrat]

I have recently received a CD of piano music for 4-hands by Carl Czerny. In the CD notes was an interesting episode that I did not know anything about. Apparently in 1818, Beethoven asked a favor of Czerny: to play the Adagio and Rondo of the E-flat concerto at the Redoutensaal in a few days time. Czerny responded with a tear wrenching letter, explaining to Beethoven that for a period of 15 years Czerny has been supporting himself and his elderly parents by teaching (as many as 12 lessons a day), composing, and publishing, having totally forsaken public performances because they brought him no relief. Czerny fears that his artistry has waned to such an extent that he could not do justice to Beethoven's greatest and most accomplished compositions in front of an overly critical Viennese audience on two days notice. He requested that Beethoven release him from the honor, which Beethoven did, and Czerny would never perform again (Czerny died in 1857).

Now for some reason, I always thought that Czerny performed the premiere of the Emperor Concerto in 1810. Now if Czerny had not performed in public for 15 years, that means he quit performing publicly in 1803 (at the ripe old age of 12). So who performed the Emperor Concerto in 1810? The numbers just do not add up.

[Peter]

The first performance of the Emperor took place on November 28, 1811, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Czerny was the soloist at the Vienna premiere on Feb 11th 1812.

In my edition of letters written to Beethoven there isn't one from Czerny in 1818 with his response to Beethoven's request - however the 15 year period suggested in your cd notes must be wrong!

[Hofrat]

Peter;

As I said, the numbers did not add up and the events did not dove-tail with the facts. But to use a long quotation from a non-existant letter from Czerny in the CD notes borders on terrible scholarship!!

[Michael]

I always thought that the first performance of the Emperor was given by Friedrich Schneider.

[Hofrat]

The E-flat concerto was written in 1809, first performed on 28 November 1811, and published in 1810 by Clementi in London. I assume that Friedrich Schneider performed the Leipzig premiere and Carl Czerny performed the Vienna debut on 11 February 1812.

[Hofrat]

I started to leaf through my huge tome of Thayer for answers. There is no mention of Redoutensaal after the year of 1816. In 1815, Czerny played the piano part of the opus 16 quintet at a big gala event in the residence of Count Deym.

If there were a Beethoven event at the Redoutensaal in 1818, I would think that Thayer would mention it. And if Czerny did give up public concerts from 1803-1818, how do we explain Czerny's performing in public in 1812 and 1815. And then there is the absence of a 1818 letter from Czerny to Beethoven.

I think the CD notes' writer fabricated a letter, or Czerny has recollected the incident many years after the fact and confused the years.

[Peter]

No there is a letter dated 1818 from Beethoven requesting Czerny to play the Adagio and Rondo from the concerto in the Grosser Redoutensaal and also his sympathetic response to Czerny's refusal. Anderson quotes this and in the footnotes explains that Czerny refused this on the grounds that he was having to give lessons for up to 12 hours daily - there is however no mention of this having been the case for 15 years.

[Hofrat]

Allow me to quote Czerny's response to Beethoven from the CD notes by Grete Wehmeyer of Sony Classical:

"Most esteemed Herr Beethoven,
Your request, which pleases me more than I can express, compels me to explain to you my sentiments and my circumstances with openness required from one man to another. In order to support my parents and myself properly, I have sacrificed the last 15 years of my life to teaching. Composing and playing have had to take second place, as I received no encouragement or relief--particularly no relief. In view of demands made on virtuosos, it has been impossible to refine my playing to such an extent which can justifiably be expected from my abilities. And now--after 14 years with no experience of this kind--I am to appear before the great critical audience of Vienna, suddenly, without any preparation, having hardly two days of practice, to perform one of your greatest, most accomplished compositions."

[Peter]

Well the letter sounds like it is Czerny's response to Beethoven's request (though as I mentioned it is absent from my 3 volume collection of letters written to Beethoven). His lessons with Beethoven ceased in 1802 and it is known that from 1804-5 he regularly went to Prince Lichnowsky's up to twice a week to perform from memory Beethoven sonatas as the Prince called out an opus number! Also of course he did give the Vienna premiere of the Emperor concerto in 1812 so he was presumably slightly annoyed at the request to perform the work at just 2 days notice and therefore overstated his case to Beethoven.