Franz Liszt 1811–1886Franz Liszt was born on the 22nd of October 1811 in what is today Raiding, a town in Eastern Austria, but what was at that time Doborján, in western Hungary. Adam Liszt discovered his son Franzi’s great musical talent when he was aged six. At the age of eleven, the wunderkind journeyed to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri, and, whilst still a student, already made his Vienna debut on 1 December 1822, prompting the city’s Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung to refer to him as a small Hercules who appeared to have fallen from heaven. From Vienna, the young Liszt embarked on his first concert tour, which took him to Munich, Augsburg, Stuttgart, Strasbourg and Paris, in the latter giving no fewer than 38 concerts in two months. Successful appearances in England followed, and in no time his reputation as a great pianist was established throughout Europe – and without the help of today’s electronic media.
Adam Liszt died in 1827. To earn a living, and to support his mother, Franz resolves to become a piano teacher. He considers becoming a priest and withdrawing from life in the public eye, but the July Revolution of 1830 signifies a turning point for him, prompting a return to life in all its facets. In the salons of Paris, Liszt gets to know such figures as Heinrich Heine, Victor Hugo, Hector Berlioz en Frédéric Chopin. Certainly of equal importance to his artistic development would be his attending of a concert given by of Niccolò Paganini: he resolves to master his instrument to the same degree as the famed violinist his, and so to penetrate to the core of music itself.
In 1833, Liszt meets the married countess Marie d’Agoult; two years later, he flees with her to Switzerland, and then to Italy. In 1835, their first child is born: Blandine. In 1837, Cosima comes into the world, in 1839, Daniel. In late 1839, Liszt’s golden period begins: from then until September 1847, he goes on tour after tour of Europe. The music world comes under the spell of the pianist-composer who, as Heine observes, unleashes a veritable ‘Lisztomania.’ On one of his tours, he pays a visit to the Netherlands, making his one and only Utrecht concert appearance at the Stadschouwburg (= theatre) at Vredenburg Square on 9 December 1842.
Liszt’s always problematic relationship with Marie d’Agoult comes to an end in 1844. In 1847, he makes the acquaintance of Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein in Kiev, who convinces him to stop going on his exhausting concert tours. They both go to live in Weimar, where Liszt becomes Archduke Carl Friedrich’s director of music, and where, under his baton, the works of numerous contemporary composers are premiered. Weimar indeed now becomes a centre for the musical avant-garde, but this does not go unnoticed by the conservative establishment, and, following a scandal concerning the premiere of Peter Cornelius’ opera ‘The Barber of Baghdad,’ Liszt must relinquish his position.
Liszt and Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein move to Rome, each residing in a separate apartment. They hope to marry there on 22 October 1861, Franz’ fiftieth birthday, but the Vatican puts pay to their plans. In 1865, Liszt receives the Lower Orders, which carry the title of Abbé. He now divides his time between Rome, Budapest and Weimar. In Weimar, Liszt give masterclasses to young pianists, who journey here from all over the world; in Budapest he becomes director of a new conservatory; in Rome he composes almost exclusively religiously inspired works.
In 1881 Franz Liszt falls down a staircase in his Weimar home – the beginning of the end. Despite increasingly poor health, though, he continues to travel, compose and teach. He dies in Bayreuth on 31 July 1886, aged almost 75, bequeathing the world some 1,400 compositions.
Mathieu Heinrichs
