![]() Liszt’s father died suddenly of typhoid fever, enjoining his son to hand over his fortune to his mother in recognition of the person who had made it possible. By the age of 16 Liszt was famous throughout Europe and financially self-sufficient. The fashionable salons welcomed him both in the French capital and in London. A concert at the Opéra in March 1824 established him as one of the finest pianists ever heard. Still only 12 and a finished pianist, Liszt left Vienna for Paris. At one, attended by Beethoven and in which Liszt played an arrangement of a Beethoven piano trio from memory, the great master is said to have kissed his brow and exclaimed, ‘Devil of a fellow! – such a young rascal!’ Liszt also made his bow as a composer at this time, one of those asked to contribute a variation on a theme by Diabelli. His piano mentor there was the illustrious Carl Czerny, who refused to accept payment for the pleasure of teaching the Hungarian wunderkind. Prince Nicholas Esterházy was impressed enough to arrange for a group of Hungarian aristocrats to fund the musical education of the prodigy to the tune of 600 florins a year and Liszt, with his mother and ambitious father, moved to Vienna in 1821. Hungarian wunderkindīy nine Liszt could not only play the difficult B minor Concerto of Hummel in public but was able to extemporise on themes submitted by the audience. He was as arrogant and egocentric as he was also humble and generous he was a profoundly spiritual man yet delighted in the pleasures of the flesh – at least 26 major love affairs and several illegitimate children (Ernest Newman said, ‘He collected princesses and countesses as other men collect rare butterflies, or Japanese prints, or first editions’) attracted to the life of a recluse, he loved luxury and the adulation of the public he practised at the highest level of his art yet could demean himself with meretricious theatrics: all in all, a fascinating man. Yet he remains the most contradictory personality of all the great composers. ![]() Liszt's Totentanz: a guide to the best recordingsĬomposer, teacher, Abbé, Casanova, writer, sage, pioneer and champion of new music, philanthropist, philosopher and one of the greatest pianists in history, Liszt was the very embodiment of the Romantic spirit. He worked in every field of music except ballet and opera and to each field he contributed a significant development. Franz Liszt (born Octodied July 31, 1886) was the very embodiment of the Romantic spirit.
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