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
-
Classical Best Liszt
Franz Liszt, Classical Music: 50 of the Best
Classical - Released by Armasi on 31 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Rapsodias Hungaras
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on 29 Jun 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Idyll und Refugium
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 3 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mordecai Shehori Plays Franz Liszt, Vol. 1: Love and the Devil
Classical - Released by Cembal d'amour CD 116 on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Liszt: Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Classical - Released by RCD music on 4 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 in E Flat Major
Franz Liszt, Roland Pöntinen, Christian Lindberg, ADDA Simfònica
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 18 Apr 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Symphonic Poem No. 2 "Tasso" - Symphonic Poem No. 7 "Festklange" - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12
USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 14 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Liszt: 4 Mephisto Waltzes
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Feb 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Dante Symphony - Mephisto Waltz
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, RTV Symphony Orchestra Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre Choir
Classical - Released by Intermusic S.A. on 9 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Early Recordings, Volume 2 [1932 - 1935]
Classical - Released by Classical Moments on 19 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt & Chopin, Piano Concerto No.1, Piano Concerto No. 2 , Minute Waltz, Raindrops
Classical - Released by Piros - Send on 26 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opus Liszt
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 12 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Evening of Classical: Liszt
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 30 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Liszt Portrait, Vol. IX
Classical - Released by ADAGIO on 10 Nov 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium: Liszt
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 29 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liebesträume ‒ Notturno 3
Classical - Released by soundnotation on 18 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hans Fagius - German Romantic Organ Works
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on 12 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Concertos No. 1, S. 124 & No. 2, S. 125 (Live)
Classical - Released by Lodia Music International on 25 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt (Liszt - Depictions)
Classical - Released by Sleeveless Records on 1 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Via Crucis, S. 53 (Via Crucis)
David Selig, Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, Nicole Corti
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on 25 Nov 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, S. 673
Classical - Released by Prospect on 19 Apr 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo