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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Liszt: Symphonic Poem No. 2, S. 96 "Tasso, Lamento e trionfo" (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 3/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Trauerode, oration for organ (Vortagsstücke No. 2), S. 268/2 [Digitally Remastered]
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 3/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reflections and Relationships
Yarolslav Senyshyn, Susan O'Neill-Senyshyn
Classical - Released by Albany Records on 1/11/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harmonies du Soir
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 21/04/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Valse S 125
Classical - Released by Digital Music Group, Inc. on 19/01/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reminisences of De Don Juan
Classical - Released by Pastel Records Canada on 1/10/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Gatsby
DEDULYA, Franz Liszt, Hypetrak
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 1/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Watermelon Sugar
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 15/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Liszt: Poémas Sinfónicos
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on 29/06/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Life in Florence
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 30/05/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thinking Out Loud
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 14/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sunflower
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 13/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Time 4 Love (Electronic Version)
Electronic - Released by Digi Records on 9/01/2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt - Sonata in B Minor
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 11/07/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Someone You Loved
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 12/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Dance
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 9/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roland Pöntinen Plays Liszt
Classical - Released by Haddock on 1/01/2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Say You Won’t Let Go
Dance - Released by VIRAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE on 10/06/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Temas de Amor
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 30/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo