Czer·ny (ch?r?n?), Karl 1791-1857. Austrian pianist and composer. A student of Beethoven and the teacher of Liszt, he wrote several volumes of piano exercises that remain in wide use.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.