'Liszt is the past, the present and the future of piano playing'

-Wilhelm von Lenz in 1872

As with many of the greatest composers, it is incredibly difficult to convey the wonders of Franz¹ Liszt in writing. Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential composers of the 19th Century, Liszt's phenomenally passionate and rich works inspired young musicians then and continue to do so now. Credited with foreshadowing the harmonic, atonal and impressionism developments of the 20th Century, Liszt may well have been one of the greatest pianists and composers ever to live.

Youth And Beginnings

Born on 22 November 1811, in Raiding, Hungary, to a steward of Prince Nicolas Eszterházy, Liszt was surrounded by music from his birth. His father Ádám, a keen cellist, began to teach Franz to play the piano at the age of five, and, showing great potential, Franz began to compose at the age of eight. Excited at his son's talent, Ádám presented Franz to Hungarian magnates in Slovakia; they were impressed and agreed to fund his musical education for the next six years. Franz was taken to Vienna and came under the piano tutelage of Czerny², and took composition lessons from the musical director of the Viennese court. By the age of nine, Franz was giving public performances and was loved in the musical circles of Vienna. Some, however, no doubt felt that he was a prococious brat.

In 1823 the family moved to Paris and Franz performed throughout Germany on the way there. Refused at the Paris Conservatoire because he was foreign riff-raff, Franz studied with the director of the Théâtre-Italien in Paris and Anton Reicha³. He debuted in Paris on 7 March 1824 and took the city by storm! He was a raving success and toured Europe extensively until 1828, when, suffering from nervous exhaustion he expressed a wish to enter the Church. Startled by this worrying development, his father took him to Boulogne in hopes of improving Franz's health. In a curious twist, however, it was there that Ádám himself failed, and died of typhoid fever.

Returning to Paris, Franz earned a living as a piano teacher and unfortunately fell in love with one of his pupils. This is generally felt to be a bad thing to do as a teacher⁴. When her father insisted that the relationship be ended, Liszt once again became extremely ill and was considered close to death⁵. It would have been terrible for stress and heartache to bring an end to such a great musician; however he did recover, but riddled with depression and doubt about his career he refused to touch a piano for over a year.

Romance, Violins, and Emotion

Now that his father was dead, the responsibility to keep Franz from entering priesthood fell on his mother. She succeeded but Franz still had a vaguely manic approach to religion, spending many hours in the church of St. Vincent-de-Paul and expressing a deep religious pessimism. In placement of his piano playing, Liszt read furiously to make up for his years of narrow musical focus. He became more aware of his surroundings and came into contact with many of the leading figures of the time, including Victor Hugo.

Returning to music properly in 1830, Liszt was greatly influenced in a short period by three men: Berlioz, Paganini and Chopin.

Liszt met Hector Berlioz towards the end of 1830, hearing for the first time, his Symphonie Fantastique, which he then managed to transcribe for the piano in 1833. He continued to transcribe various works of Berlioz's for many years and gained a greater command of the romantic orchestra with his help.

Less than a year later, in March of 1831, Liszt heard a virtuoso performance from the phenominally wonderful violinist, Niccolò Paganini. Bowled over by Paganini's musical command, Liszt vowed to do for the piano what Paganini had done for the violin. A period of intense dedication followed, time in which Liszt pushed his, already astounding, mastery of the keyboard even further. He succeeded in using inspiration gained from Paganini's works, and brought forth pieces of a difficulty and musical complexity that had never been seen before. In this new period of expertise Liszt became aquainted with Frederic Chopin, whose poetic and emotional approach to piano composition added to Liszt's already passionate ability.

Chopin and Liszt were complete social opposites, and were often compared. Chopin was introverted and retiring; he considered Liszt rather vulgar and found it difficult to spend large amounts of time with him. However, they remained in contact for some time and it was Liszt who introduced Chopin to George Sand, the female novelist, who was to become Chopin's lover for the next ten years.

By 1834 Liszt was well respected throughout Europe and women were throwing themselves at his feet. His reputation for fiery affairs exploded as his popularity grew. But although he did have a weakness where women were concerned, and did break several hearts over the course of his life, Liszt was also considered one of the most generous of all the great composers of the time. Although he was always striving for greater fame, wider recognition and more serious musical respect, Liszt could be found holding back from promoting his own works in order for lesser known composers around him to have centre stage. He also began to play a number of benefit concerts, his first being with Chopin in 1833.

Affairs, Duals and Children

Dramatist and poet, Alfred de Musset, made an introduction in 1834 that he probably came to regret later. Marie de Flavigny, Countess d' Agoult⁶, was unhappily married, separated, and fell madly in love with Liszt upon meeting him...and he certainly liked her too!

Marie! Marie!


Oh let me repeat that name a hundred times,
a thousand times over;

for three days now it has lived within me, oppressed me,
set me afire.

I am not writing to you, no, I am close beside you.

1835 saw the countess and Liszt eloping to Switzerland, where Liszt began teaching at the Geneva Conservatoire. Whilst there, he composed several pieces in reflection of the beautiful Swiss countryside. Continuing his promotion of music, Liszt also wrote a series of essays, under the title of 'On the Position of Artists', in which he attempted to alter the general public view held at the time; that artists were a form of superior servant, rather than a respected section of society.
During this period of satisfied romance and education, the couple's first daughter, Blandine, was born on 18 December.

The reputation of a pianist is never concrete however, and news soon reached Liszt that his rival, Thalberg, was having great success in Paris and was replacing Liszt as their best-loved performer. Riled, Liszt returned to Paris to challenge Thalberg to a musical dual. The explosive performances of both were witnessed by an awestruck audience, with Liszt emerging once-again as the undisputed King Of The Piano!

Fired with renewed vigour Liszt, once again, went on tour around Europe. Something that is taken for granted now is the 'recital', in which the performer and piano is placed sideways on to the audience so that they are able to see his body as he plays. Before Liszt, this method of performance was unheard of, but proved to be popular as he introduced it on his travels. Despite all of this activity, Liszt still managed to find time to father his second daughter, Cosmima, born 24 December of 1837.