Franz Liszt
Liszt was the only contemporary whose music Richard Wagner gratefully acknowledged as an influence upon his own. His lasting fame was an alchemy of extraordinary digital ability -- the greatest in the history of keyboard playing -- an unmatched instinct for showmanship, and one of the most progressive musical imaginations of his time. Hailed by some as a visionary, reviled by others as a symbol of empty Romantic excess, Franz Liszt wrote his name across music history in a truly inimitable manner.
From his youth, Liszt demonstrated a natural facility at the keyboard that placed him among the top performing prodigies of his day. Though contemporary accounts describe his improvisational skill as dazzling, his talent as a composer emerged only in his adulthood. Still, he was at the age of eleven the youngest contributor to publisher Anton Diabelli's famous variation commissioning project, best remembered as the inspiration for Beethoven's final piano masterpiece. An oft-repeated anecdote -- first recounted by Liszt himself decades later, and possibly fanciful -- has Beethoven attending a recital given by the youngster and bestowing a kiss of benediction upon him.
Though already a veteran of the stage by his teens, Liszt recognized the necessity of further musical tuition. He studied for a time with Czerny and Salieri in Vienna, and later sought acceptance to the Paris Conservatory. When he was turned down there -- foreigners were not then admitted -- he instead studied privately with Anton Reicha. Ultimately, his Hungarian origins proved a great asset to his career, enhancing his aura of mystery and exoticism and inspiring an extensive body of works, none more famous than the Hungarian Rhapsodies (1846-1885).
Liszt soon became a prominent figure in Parisian society, his romantic entanglements providing much material for gossip. Still, not even the juiciest accounts of his amorous exploits could compete with the stories about his wizardry at the keyboard. Inspired by the superhuman technique -- and, indeed, diabolical stage presence -- of the violinist Paganini, Liszt set out to translate these qualities to the piano. As his career as a touring performer, conductor, and teacher burgeoned, he began to devote an increasing amount of time to composition. He wrote most of his hundreds of original piano works for his own use; accordingly, they are frequently characterized by technical demands that push performers -- and in Liszt's own day, the instrument itself -- to their limits. The "transcendence" of his Transcendental Etudes (1851), for example, is not a reference to the writings of Emerson and Thoreau, but an indication of the works' level of difficulty. Liszt was well into his thirties before he mastered the rudiments of orchestration -- works like the Piano Concerto No. 1 (1849) were orchestrated by talented students -- but made up for lost time in the production of two "literary" symphonies (Faust, 1854-1857, and Dante, 1855-1856) and a series of orchestral essays (including Les préludes, 1848-1854) that marks the genesis of the tone poem as a distinct genre.
After a lifetime of near-constant sensation, Liszt settled down somewhat in his later years. In his final decade he joined the Catholic Church and devoted much of his creative effort to the production of sacred works. The complexion of his music darkened; the flash that had characterized his previous efforts gave way to a peculiar introspection, manifested in strikingly original, forward-looking efforts like Nuages gris (1881). Liszt died in Bayreuth, Germany, on July 31, 1886, having outlived Wagner, his son-in-law and greatest creative beneficiary.
© TiVo
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Lazar Berman plays Liszt
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 12-01-2023
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Elly Ney : The Complete Brunswick & Electrola Solo 78-RPM recordings
Clásica - Editado por APR el 07-06-2019
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Grandi Pianisti Tamas Vasary
Tamás Vásáry, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 11-06-2021
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Grandi Pianisti Jorge Bolet
Jorge Bolet, Franz Liszt, Serge Rachmaninoff
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 07-05-2021
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A Romantic Melody
Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 10-04-2024
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Infinite Liszt
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 11-07-2020
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Classical Sonosphere Vol. 1
Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Saëns
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 22-06-2023
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A Classical Compendium: Liszt
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 16-09-2022
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Franz Liszt: Années de Pélerinage 2e Année "L'Italie"
Clásica - Editado por Denon el 01-01-1993
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Franz Liszt - Rapsodia Húngara
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 30-06-2015
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Chopin, Liszt: Piano Sonatas & Concertos
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 22-05-2021
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Mikhail Petukhov. Virtuoso Romantic: Liszt, Saint-Saens, Mendelssohn, Gounod, Rossini
Música de cámara - Editado por Royal Music Society el 08-08-2011
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Berman Plays Liszt Etudes and More
Clásica - Editado por Pipeline Music el 30-11-2006
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Masterpieces of Liszt
Clásica - Editado por Avanticlassic el 05-05-2020
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Liszt: Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Clásica - Editado por Danacord Records el 01-01-2006
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Autumnal Liszt
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 10-10-2020
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Focus with Brahms & Liszt
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Liszt: Années de pèlerinage
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 09-05-2021
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Bradshaw & Buono Play Liszt
Clásica - Editado por Albany Records el 01-01-1990
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Rumanian Rhapsody
Clásica - Editado por Claves Records el 01-01-2000
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