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LISZT, FRANZ (1811-1886)
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See also:LISZT, See also:FRANZ (1811-1886) , Hungarian pianist and composer, was See also:born on the 22nd of See also:October 18,1, at Raiding, in See also:Hungary. His See also:appeal to musicians was made in a threefold capacity, and we have, therefore, to See also:deal with Liszt the unrivalled See also:pianoforte virtuoso (1830-1848); Liszt the conductor of the "See also:music of the future " at See also:Weimar, the teacher of Tausig, Billow and a See also:host of lesser pianists, the eloquent writer on music and musicians, the See also:champion of See also:Berlioz and See also:Wagner (1848-1861); and Liszt the prolific composer, who for. some five-and-See also:thirty years continued to put forth pianoforte pieces, songs, symphonic orchestral pieces, cantatas, masses, See also:psalms and oratorios (1847-1882). As virtuoso he held his own for the entire See also:period during which he See also:chose to appear in public; but the militant conductor and See also:prophet of Wagner had a hard See also:time of it, and the composer's See also:place is still in dispute. Liszt's See also:father, a clerk to the See also:agent of the Esterhazy estates and an See also:amateur musician of some attainment, was Hungarian by See also:birth and ancestry, his See also:mother an See also:Austrian-See also:German. The boy's gifts attracted the See also:attention of certain Hungarian magnates, who furnished 600 gulden annually for some years to enable him to study music at See also:Vienna and See also:Paris. At Vienna he had lessons in pianoforte playing from Carl See also:Czerny of " Velocity " fame, and from See also:Salieri in See also:harmony and See also:analysis of scores. In his See also:eleventh See also:year he began to See also:play in public there, Wagner's Tannhaicser, Der fiiegende Hollander, Das Liebesmahl der Apostel, and See also:Fine See also:Faust See also:Overture, Berlioz's Benvenuto See also:Cellini, the Symphonic Fantastique, Harold en See also:Italic, Romeo et Juliette, La Damnation de Faust, and L'Enfance du See also:Christ—the last two conducted by the composer—See also:Schumann's Genoveva, See also:Paradise and the See also:Peri, the music to See also:Manfred and to Faust, See also:Weber's Euryanthe, See also:Schubert's Alfonso and Estrella, See also:Raff's See also:Konig See also:Alfred, See also:Cornelius's Der See also:Barbier von Baghdad and many more. It was Liszt's See also:habit to recommend novelties to the public by explanatory articles or essays, which were written in See also:French (some for the See also:Journal See also:des debats and the See also:Gazette musicale of Paris) and translated for the See also:journals of Weimar and See also:Leipzig—thus his two masterpieces of sympathetic See also:criticism, the essays See also:Lohengrin et Tannhduser a Weimar and Harold en Italic, found many readers and proved very effective. They are now included, together with articles on Schumann and Schubert, and the elaborate and rather high-flown essays on See also:Chopin and Des Bohemiens et de leur musique en Hongrie (the latter certainly, and the former probably, written in collaboration with Madame de See also:Wittgenstein), in his Gesammelte Schri ften (6 vols., Leipzig). The compositions belonging to the period of his See also:residence at Weimar comprise two pianoforte concertos, in E See also:flat and in A, the " Todtentanz," the " See also:Concerto pat hetique " for two pianos, the See also:solo See also:sonata " An See also:Robert Schumann," sundry " Etudes," fifteen " Rhapsodies Hongroises," twelve orchestral " Poemes symphoniques," " Eine Faust Symphonie," and " Eine Symphonic zu See also:Dante's ` Divina See also:Corn-See also:media,' " the " 13th See also:Psalm " for See also:tenor solo, See also:chorus and See also:orchestra, the choruses to See also:Herder's dramatic scenes " See also:Prometheus," and the " Missa solennis " known as the " Graner Fest Messe." Liszt retired to See also:Rome in 1861, and joined the Franciscan See also:order in 1865.1 From 1869 onwards See also:Abbe Liszt divided his time between Rome and Weimar, where during the summer months he received pupils—gratis as formerly—and, from 1876 up to his See also:death at See also:Bayreuth on the 31st of See also:July 1886, he also taught for several months every year at the Hungarian See also:Conservatoire of See also:Budapest. About Liszt's pianoforte, technique in See also:general it may be said that it derives its efficiency from the teaching of Czerny, who brought up his See also:pupil on See also:Mozart, a little See also:Bach and See also:Beethoven, a See also:good deal of See also:Clementi and See also:Hummel, and a good deal of his (Czerny's) own See also:work. Classicism in the shape of solid, respectable Hummel on the one See also:hand, and Carl Czerny, a trifle flippant, perhaps, and inclined to appeal to the See also:gallery, on the other, these gave the musical parentage of See also:young Liszt. Then appears the Parisian Incroyable and See also:grand seigneur— " See also:Monsieur Lits," as the Parisians called him. Later, we find him imitating See also:Paganini and Chopin, and at the same time making a really passionate and deep study of Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, Berlioz. Thus gradually was formed the See also:master of See also:style—whose command of the See also:instrument was supreme, and who played like an inspired poet. Liszt's See also:strange musical nature was See also:long in maturing its fruits. At the pianoforte his achievements culminate in the two books of studies, twice rewritten, and finally published in 1852 as Etudes d'See also:execution transcendante, the Etudes de See also:concert and the Paganini Studies; the two concertos and the Todtentanz, the Sonata in B See also:minor, the Hungarian Rhapsodies and the fine transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies (the 9th for two pianofortes as well as solo), and of Berlioz's Symphonic fantastique, and the See also:symphony, Harold en Italic. In his orchestral pieces of Liszt appears—next to Berlioz—as the most conspicuous and most thorough-going representative of See also:programme music, i.e. instrumental music expressly contrived to illustrate in detail some poem or some See also:succession of ideas or pictures. It was Liszt's aim to bring about a See also:direct See also:alliance or amalgamation of instrumental music with See also:poetry. To effect this he made use of the means of musical expression for .purposes of See also:illustration, and relied on points of support outside the See also:pale of music proper. There is always danger of failure when an See also:attempt is thus made It is understood that, in point of fact, the Princess Wittgenstein was determined to marry Liszt; and as neither he nor her See also:family wished their connexion to take this See also:form, See also:Cardinal See also:Hohenlohe quietly had him ordained.—[En. E.B.].to connect instrumental music with conceptions not in themselves musical, for the order of the ideas that serve as a programme is See also:apt to interfere with the order which the musical exposition naturally assumes—and the result in most cases is but an See also:amalgam of irreconcilable materials. In pieces such as Liszt's " Poemes symphoniques," Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne (1848-1856), after a poem by See also:Victor See also:Hugo, and See also:Die Ideale (1853-1857), after a poem by See also:Schiller, the hearer is bewildered by a See also:series of startling orchestral effects which succeed one another apparently without See also:rhyme or See also:reason. The music does not See also:con-form to any sufficiently definite musical See also:plan—it is hardly intelligible as music without reference to the programme. Liszt's masterpiece in orchestral music is the Dante Symphony (1847-18J5), the subject of which was particularly well suited to his temperament, and offered good chances for the display of his See also:peculiar See also:powers as a master of instrumental effect. By the See also:side of it ranks the Faust Symphony (1854-1857), in which the moods of See also:Goethe's characters—Faust, Gretchen and See also:Mephistopheles—are depicted in three instrumental movements, with a chorus of male voices, supplying a See also:kind of comment, by way of See also:close. The method of presentation in both symphonies is by means of representative themes (Leitmotif), and their See also:combination and interaction. Incidents of the poem or the play are illustrated or alluded to as may be convenient, and the exigencies of musical form are not unfrequently disregarded for the See also:sake of See also:special effects. Of the twelve Poemes symphoniques, Orphee is the most consistent from a musical point of view, and is exquisitely scored. Melodious, effective, readily intelligible, with a dash of the See also:commonplace, See also:Les Preludes, See also:Tasso, Mazeppa and Fest-Klange bid for popularity. In these pieces, as in almost every See also:production of his, in lieu of See also:melody Liszt offers fragments of melody—touching and beautiful, it may be, or passionate, or tinged with triviality; in lieu of a rational See also:distribution of centres of harmony in accordance with some definite plan, he presents See also:clever combinations of chords and ingenious modulations from point to point; in lieu of musical See also:logic and consistency of See also:design, he is content with rhapsodical improvisation. The See also:power of persistence seems wanting. The musical growth is spoilt, the development of the themes is stopped, or prevented, by some reference to extraneous ideas. Everywhere the programme stands in the way. In much of Liszt's vocal music, particularly in the songs and choral pieces written to German words, an annoying discrepancy is See also:felt to exist between the true See also:sound of the words and the musical accents. The music is generally emotional, the expression direct and passionate; there is no lack of melodic See also:charm and originality, yet the See also:total effect is frequently disappointing. In the choral See also:numbers of the five masses, and in the oratorios Die Heilige Elisabeth and Christus, the rarity of fugal polyphony acts as a See also:drawback. Its almost See also:complete See also:absence in some of these See also:works makes for monotony and produces a sense of dullness, which may not be inherent in all the details of the music, but is none the less distinctly See also:present.
Omitting trifles and all publications that have been cancelled, the following See also:list of compositions may be taken as fairly comprehensive — ,
Pianoforte Pieces.—Etudes d'execution transcendante; Etudes de concert; Zwei Etuden, Waldesrauschen, Gnomentanz; Ab Irato; Paganini Studies; Annees de Pelerinage, 3 sets; Harmonies poetiques at religieuses, 1-10; Consolations, 1-6; See also:Ave Maria in E; Sonata in B minor; Konzert-Solo in E minor; See also:Scherzo and Marsch; Ballades, I. II.; Polonaises, I. II.; See also:Apparitions, 1-3; See also:Berceuse; Valse See also:impromptu; See also:Mazurka brillant; 3 Caprices Valses; Galop chromatique; Mephisto-Walzer, I.,II.,III. and See also:Polka; Zwei Legenden, " Die Vogelpredigt," " Der heilige Franciscus auf den Wogen schreitend "; " Der Weihnachtsbaum," 1-12; Sarabande and See also:Chaconne (" Almira ") ; Elegies, I., II. and III.; La lugubre Gondola; Dem Andenken See also:Petofi's; Mosonyi's Grabgeleit; See also:Romance oubliee; Valses oubliees, 1-3; Liebestraume, I-3 (originally songs); Hexameron; Rhapsodies Hongroises, 1-18.
Pieces for Two Pianos.—Concerto pathetique (identical with the Konzert-Solo in E minor); Dante symphony; Faust symphony; Poemes symphoniques, 1-12 ; Beethoven's 9th symphony.
Pianoforte with Orchestra.—Concertos I. in E flat, II. in A; Todtentanz; Fantasie ueber Motif aus Beethoven's " Ruinen von Athen "; Fantasie ueber Ungarische See also:National Melodien; Schubert's See also:Fantasia in C; Weber's See also:Polacca in E.
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Fantaisies de Concert for Piano Solo.--See also:Don Juan; Norma; Sonnambula; f I'uritani; See also:Lucia, I., II.; Lucrezia, I., II.; La Juive; Robert le Diable; Les See also:Huguenots; Le Prophchtc, 1-4. Paraphrases, See also:Auber, Tarantella di bravura (See also:Masaniello) ; See also:Verdi, Rigoletto, Ernani, II Trovatore; Mendelssohn, " Hochzcitsmarsch and Elfenreigen "; See also:Gounod, Valse de Faust, Les Adieux de Romeo et Juliette; Tschaikowsky, See also:Polonaise; Dargomiyski, Tarantelle; Cui, Tarantella; See also:Saint-Saens, Danse See also:macabre; Schubert, Soirees de See also:Vienne, Valses caprices, 1-9.
Transcriptions.—Beethoven's Nine Symphonies; Berlioz's " Symphonic fantastique," " Harold en Italic "; See also:Benediction et Scrment (13envenuto Cellini) ; Danse des Sylphes (Damnation de Faust) ; Weber's overtures, Her Freischiitz, Euryanthe, See also:Oberon, See also:Jubilee; Beethoven's and Hummel's Septets; Schubert's Divertissement a la Hongroise; Beethoven's Concertos in C minor, G and E flat (orchestra for a second piano); Wagner's See also:Tannhauser overture, See also: " Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne "; 2. Tasso; 3. Les Preludes; 4. Orphee; 5. Promethce; 6. Mazeppa; 7. Fest-Klange; 8. HeroIde funebre; 9. Hungaria; to. See also:Hamlet; 11. Ilunnenschlacht; 12. Die Ideate; Zwei Episoden aus See also:Lenau's Faust: I. Der nachtliche See also:Zug, II. Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke; See also:Marches, See also:Rakoczy, Goethe, Huldigung, Vom Fels zum See also:Moor " (for a military See also:band); Ungarischer, Heroischer and Sturmmarsch; Le Triomphe funebre du Tassc; " Von der \Viege bis zum Grab "; six Hungarian rhapsodies; four marches; four songs, and Die Allmacht, by Schubert. Vocal Music.—Oratorios: " Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth," " Christus," " See also:Stanislaus " (unfinished). Masses: Missa solennis for the inauguration of the See also:cathedral at Gran; Ungarische Kr6nungs-messe; Missa choralis (with organ); Missa and See also:Requiem for male voices (with organ); Psalms, 13, 137, 23 and 18; 12 Kirchen-Chor-Gesfinge (with organ). Cantatas: Prometheus-chore; " Beethoven See also:Cantata "; " An die Kunstler "; Die Glocken des Strassburger i\lunsters; 12 Chore See also:fur Mannergesang; Songs, 8 books; Scena, Jeanne d'Arc au bfcher. Melodramatic Pieces for Declamation, with Pianoforte See also:Accompaniment.—Leonore (See also:Burger); Der traurige Monch (Lenau); Des todten Dichter's Liebe (See also:Jokai); Der blinde See also:Sanger (See also:Tolstoy). See also:Editions, See also:Text and Variants.—Beethoven's Sonatas; Weber's Concertsttick and Sonatas; Schubert Fantasia, 4 Sonatas, Impromptus, Valses and Moments musicaux. See also L. Ramaun, Fr. Liszt als K2instler and Mensch (188o–1894) ; E. Dannreuther, See also:Oxford Mist. of Music,vol. vi.(1905). (E. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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