Franz Liszt (1 apr 1811 anni – 1 sett 1886 anni)

Descrizione:

“The Paganini of the Piano”: Franz Liszt
A. Liszt was born in an area that mixed Hungarian and German culture.
1. He spoke German but at times styled himself as an exotic Hungarian.
B. As a boy, he studied piano with Czerny (Beethoven’s pupil) and composition with Salieri.
1. He was acknowledged as a prodigy by Czerny.
2. He debuted in Paris in 1824 (he was born in 1811).
3. He played typical concert fare, which were virtuoso variations on popular tunes.
C. After hearing Paganini, Liszt revisited technique, including trills, octaves, tremolos, double notes, etc.—all inspired by the violinist’s performance.
1. He composed fantasy on Paganini’s “Campanella.”
2. In the 1830s he published his Transcendental Etudes.
D. At the same time he added the new elements to his technique, Liszt read voraciously. These readings influenced his thoughts on politics and culture, and ultimately enabled a new self-perception of the role of the public artist.
E. In 1848 Liszt settled in Weimar and focused on composition.
F. In the 1860s he took minor orders in the Catholic Church.
G. Liszt had several intimate relationships with women, including a countess and princess.
1. Marie d’Agoult was the mother of Cosima, who eventually married Wagner.
2. These well-born and wealthy women were influential in his career.
H. Liszt met important composers, including Beethhoven and Debussy, and he promoted
composers of different styles and nationalities.

Transforming Music through Arrangements
A. Liszt arranged the music of many composers, and sometimes his transcriptions have lasted
longer than the originals.
B. Some of his pieces are transcriptions in a narrow sense of the word; others are more
recompositions of pre-existing material.
1. Arrangements were particularly popular in the nineteenth century, serving to disseminate music and facilitate domestic music-making.
2. His free-form fantasies on operas were the most popular, although he also reworked music by older composers.
a. Liszt’s fantasy on themes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni is exemplary of the way he could take someone else’s music and put his own stamp on it—a musical commentary reflecting his own vision.

The Lisztian Concert
A. Like Paganini, Liszt sought to combine his virtuoso concerts with a public persona that teased with hints at a dark side, flirtations, etc.
1. It was called Lisztomania by the poet Heinrich Heine.
2. The modern understanding of the word “recital” originates from his performances in
London in 1840.
B. Liszt played with a physical presence that was captivating and heavy for the instruments of the period.
1. He had several pianos onstage because he broke strings frequently.
2. Critics reported an orchestral nature in his playing.
C. He toured throughout Europe, and the text highlights a performance at St. Petersburg.
D. Improvisation was typical in Liszt’s concerts.
1. Sometimes he went so far afield of the original that critics began to complain—which
is a commentary on the idea of the “work.”

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