CARL CZERNY (1791-1857): Quatuors Concertants for 4 Pianos No. 1, Op. 230 and No. 2, Op. 816 (First Recordings).

Description: The largest part of Czerny’s oeuvre, almost half, must be counted as arrangements. The "Quatuors Concertants" op. 230 and op. 816 also belong to this genre, although the main titles do not indicate this and the instrumentation for four pianos with eight hands places them above the usual arrangements. The two titles "1er Quatuor Concertant op. 230" and "2me Quatuor Concertant op. 816" indicate that these pieces were intended for the concert hall. The "Quatuor Concertant op. 230" was performed on 4 April 1830 for the benefit of the victims of a Danube flood in the k.k. great Redouten-Saal in Vienna, together with the Semiramis Overture by G. Rossini, which Czerny had arranged for eight pianos with 32 hands. Baynov Piano Ensemble.