PRE-ORDER: Syms Nos. 1 & 2 [CD]

Eyewitnesses report that Carl Czerny's living space looked like a composition factory. He evidently internalised the principles of musical composition so thoroughly during his formative years that he was able to work on several pieces at once. Through immense diligence, he amassed 861 numbered publications. These range from simple sonatinas to multi-volume textbooks. Yet hidden amongst this wealth of works are just two symphonies (opus numbers 780 and 781!), which - just like an early attempt and four further, 'unnumbered' works from his later period - vividly demonstrate that the master of dexterity, the Grandes Exercises, Fantaisies and brilliant rondos, knew full well what this noble genre entailed. The music is crafted to the highest standards, alternating delightfully between the dramatic and the lyrical, perfectly proportioned in form. The scherzos are astonishingly close to that of his revered teacher Beethoven - here, even the last memories of the 40 daily exercises vanish in an instant