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Franz Liszt, the Grand Old Man of Music

Born: October 22, 1811

Died: July 31, 1886

Franz Liszt as a young man

Franz Liszt, called "The Grand Old Man of Music", was born in Raiding, Hungary on October 22, 1811, during the time of the early romantic-era composers. He died on July 31, 1886 and is considered to be the last of the great musicians who had been a close friend of those composers.

Franz Liszt

By the age of seven, he was playing very well, he was composing at the age of eight and giving concerts at the age of nine. At the age of ten he was studying with Czerny and Salieri. His father, a steward in the service of the Esterhazy family, accompanied him on his trips and a group of Hungarian noblemen subsidized his studies. By the time he was 16 years old he was suffering from nervous exhaustion and was talking about joining the church. However, when he did join, late in his life, he didn't seem to take his religion very seriously.

When Franz Liszt was 19 he had begun to settle down. After the death of his father he made Paris his headquarters in 1827. Up to that point his education in anything other than music had been less than solid, and he began an immense amount of studying and reading. He was able eventually to become known as a cultered person. In 1832 he wrote, "My mind and fingers have worked like the damned. Homer, the Bible, Plato, Locke, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel, Mozart, Weber are all around me. I study them, I devour them with fury."

Franz Liszt in his later years

There were three musicians who had a large influence on Liszt. The first, Berlioz, inspired him to "think big", to have extremes in dynamics and other musical properties, and to "orchestrate" the piano. The second, Paganinni, influenced him to increase his technical ability to astounding heights. His showmanship became comparable to Paganinni and had a huge influence on his audiences. Chopin was the third great influence, and through him Liszt realized there can and should be poetry and subtle expression along with bravura in piano playing.

Franz Liszt at the piano

When Liszt resumed his European tours, he was a finished artist, and as such, had a series of triumphs. Heinrich Heine, trying to describe these concerts, said they seemed full of "magnetism and electricity". At these events he would play mostly sure-fire, attention-getting music, although he probably had the entire literature of that time committed to memory. By 1839 Franz-Liszt had invented the solo recital, which at first he called "soliloquies" and later became known as recitals, which caused merriment in England, "What does he mean? How can one recite upon the piano?"

Liszt's music excites real fascination, but it can be difficult to perform, especially his piano music. It needs its performers to have daring along with a very good technique. If a performer is afraid to take a chance due to fear of playing a wrong notehe/she cannot capture its message.

His popularity did not wane even during his old age. He was usually surrounded by journalists, composers, pianists and other hangers-on. When he would appear in public, he still had the ability to make his listeners very excited. Even his hands received great attention, with plaster casts being made of them and articles written about them. Some people even enjoyed making fun of him, but when he died, genuine sorrow was the result, all across the world. As a teacher, composer and pianist he had been inspiring. He was everything his friends and even his enemies had always said he was, and it has been said, "The full story of his majestic place in musical history has yet to be told."

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