Franz
Liszt
By Jesse
Preis
Explore
the genius of Franz Liszt, including his most popular music
Franz
Liszt was a Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher who was popular
during the Romantic period. His pianistic virtuosity, showmanship, and physical
attractiveness made him so well-known that his fans started a movement that is
now known as “Lisztomania.” He might be considered the world’s first rock star,
with popularity similar to the modern-day Taylor Swift, The Beatles during the
60s and 70s, or Elvis Presley during the 50s and 60s. If you grew up watching
cartoons such as Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, then you will already be
familiar with Liszt’s music. Read on to learn more!
Franz
Liszt: Biography
Born:
October 22, 1811, Doborján, kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire [now Raiding,
Austria]
Died:
July 31, 1886, Bayreuth, Germany (aged 74)
Liszt was
born into a musical family on October 22nd, 1811 in Doborján, Hungary (which is
known today as Raiding, Austria). His first piano teacher was his father Adám,
who began teaching him at the age of seven. At age nine, Franz began performing
in concerts around the cities of modern-day Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia.
Around this time, he also began taking piano lessons from Carl Czerny, who was
a student of Ludwig van Beethoven.
At the
age of 21, Liszt had the opportunity to see Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo
Paganini perform in concert. Following this concert, he became determined to
become a piano virtuoso of the same caliber as Paganini. Luckily, he was living
in Paris, France, which at this time in history was known as the pianist
capital of the world. His growing friendships with virtuoso pianists and
composers such as Frederic Chopin, Sigismond Thalberg, and Alexander Dreyschock
helped build his technical knowledge of the instrument.
Franz
Liszt: Music & Most Famous Works
Liszt is
not just well-known for his brilliant compositions, but for his arrangements
and transcriptions of other composers’ works as well. Here are some examples of
his most famous arrangements and original works.
Probably
best known is his Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, which comes from a set of 19
Hungarian-themed rhapsodies. This piece has been referenced in many cartoons,
including Looney Tunes (performed by Bugs Bunny) and Tom and Jerry (performed
by Tom the Cat).
An
example of his most romantic would be his Liebestraum no. 3 in A-flat Major.
“Liebestraum” translates from German as the “Dream of Love”, which you can
clearly hear in the tone that he creates if you listen here.
In his
Grandes études de Paganini, Franz Liszt composed six etudes based on melodies
written for the violin by Niccolò Paganini. These pieces are argued to be some
of the most difficult pieces in the piano repertoire. The most famous is the
Étude no. 3 in G# Minor, “La campanella”, which makes use of fast octave jumps,
scales, arpeggios, and so much more. Watch and listen to this piece here!
Perfect
for October (his birth month), Liszt’s Totentanz for Piano and Orchestra is
based on the creepy Gregorian chant “Dies Irae” (“Day of Wrath”) and is
frightening enough to keep you up on Halloween night!
Another
Halloween classic is French composer Camille Saint-Säens’ La danse macabre,
which Liszt transcribed and arranged for piano. Check out this piece here!
Liszt
also transcribed and arranged Beethoven’s 7th symphony for piano. You can hear
that by clicking here.
Relationship
with Frederic Chopin
Liszt
maintained friendships with several important composers, including Robert
Schumann, Hector Berlioz, and Frederic Chopin (about whom you can learn more
here). Liszt and Chopin are known as two of the greatest pianist-composers of
the 19th century. They became acquainted when Chopin made his Paris debut in
1832. Liszt was in the audience and had the following to say:
“The most
vigorous applause seemed not to suffice our enthusiasm in the presence of this
talented musician, who revealed a new phase of poetic sentiment combined with
such happy innovation in the form of his art.”
Although
Chopin and Liszt became friends, their friendship was strained at times. There
is an account that he performed a piece of Chopin’s, but with Liszt
embellishing and adding to it. Chopin felt insulted and told Liszt that if he
didn’t plan on performing it as written, he should not perform the piece at
all. Liszt apologized, but whether that fixed the strained relationship is
unknown.
Interesting
Facts About Franz Liszt
Have you
ever wondered why pianists often perform without sheet music and so many other
instrumentalists such as violinists perform with sheet music? Thank Liszt!
Before Liszt’s time, it was uncommon for pianists to perform without sheet
music in front of them. In fact, pianists such as Chopin considered it an
insult to the composer to play without sheet music. Liszt was a showman and
enjoyed wowing his audience with his technical brilliance and his ability to
play from memory. His personal performance technique influenced other pianists
and the rest is history!
Although
Franz Liszt was Hungarian, his first language was German and he didn’t learn
his ancestral language until later in life. Despite this fact, he was known to
be intensely proud of his Hungarian heritage.
Impressionism,
the French compositional-style that is famously tied to composers like Claude
Debussy and Maurice Ravel, is rumored to have been inspired by the use of whole
tone scales and extended chords in his Années de pèlerinage.
With
affection,
Ruben
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