Bachtrack logo
Termine
Kritiken
Artikel
Neuigkeiten
Video
Seite
Young artists
Reise

Komponist: Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)

Veranstaltungen zu klassischer Musik, Oper, Ballett und Tanz finden | Liszt
Loading image...
© Franz Hanfstaengl, 1858
Liszt, Franz
Biographie
Liszt, Franz

For most of us, the name of Franz Liszt conjures up a two word phrase: piano virtuoso. Liszt gave us the piano recital: before him, no pianist was so sure of his prowess and showmanship as to dare to book a large concert hall and pull in an adoring audience there to see just one man playing the piano for an entire evening.

Liszt’s vast array of piano pieces abounds with showmanship: whether or not they are more difficult to play than other composers’ works, they sound more difficult and more impressive. But amidst all the razzmatazz, it’s easy to overlook the depth, variety, innovation and sheer quality of the music. His masterwork, the single movement Sonata in B Minor, builds a series of themes into a massive musical structure with a coherence that would later be echoed in the operas of his son-in-law Richard Wagner. The shorter Totentanz is utterly convincing in its depiction of a series of shifting moods, while the Hungarian Rhapsodies alternate joyous fireworks with moments of rare delicacy. Equally impressive are Liszt’s transcriptions and “reminiscences”. Listening to his Reminiscences de Norma gives you the uncanny feeling that you’re listening to the original Bellini opera, while being aware that this can’t possibly be right since there’s only one man and a piano. Liszt formed part of the democratisation of music to wider audiences, playing music by many other composers and transcribing Beethoven’s nine symphonies for the piano.

Liszt’s output stretched far beyond piano works, including wonderful religious music and orchestral works, notably the Faust Symphony and a series of symphonic poems.

Liszt was born in 1811 to a musical German-speaking family in Sopron, in a small finger of Hungary very close to the Austrian border and the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt where Haydn was employed for many years. He was taught by Carl Czerny (the author of the dexterity studies still used by many of today's piano students) and was recognised early as a child prodigy: his one act opera Don Ssanche, ou le château de l’amour, received its première five days before his fourteenth birthday. For the first half of his life, he lived as a travelling musician, touring the major cities of Europe (particularly Paris) and dazzling an ecstatic public. His superstar nature was reflected in a prolific and tempestuous love life; although he had a series of highly public affairs and several children, he never married. In 1847, he gave up public performances to focus on composition and teaching, living first in Weimar and then in Rome. He became a revered and influential teacher: extraordinarily, he did not charge for lessons, believing that he had already made enough money from his music.

For much of the twentieth century, critics belittled Liszt’s music as flashy and superficial: he was seen as the dead end of a decadent romantic movement. More recently, music scholars have been kinder, perceiving compositional techniques which have strongly influenced 20th century music. But throughout this time, his works have been continuously popular with pianists and audiences, and he stands as one of the most memorable composers of the 19th century.

Kurzprofil
Geburtsjahr1811
Sterbejahr1886
NationalitätUngarn
EpocheRomantik
Werkverzeichnis
2 Csárdás, S. 2252 Konzertetüden: Waldesrauschen (forest murmurs), S 145 no. 13 Konzertetüden: Un sospiro, S144 Nr.33 Sonetti del Petrarca, S 1583 Sonetti del Petrarca: Benedetto sia il giorno, S 2703 Sonetti del Petrarca: I' vidi in terra angelici costumi, S 2703 Sonetti del Petrarca: Pace non trovo, S 2706 Consolations, S172An die ferne Geliebte S469Anfangs wollt' ich fast verzagen, S 311Angelus! Prière aux anges gardiens, S 378 no. 2Années de pèlerinageAnnées de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, Italie: Après une lecture du Dante. Fantasie quasi Sonata, S. 161 Nr. 7Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, Italie: Sonetto del Petrarca no. 123, S 161 no. 6Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, Italie: Sonetto del Petrarca no. 47, S 161 no. 4Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, Italie: Sposalizio, S 161 no. 1Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, Italien: Sonetto del Petrarca Nr. 104, S.161 Nr.5Années de pèlerinage, Première année, S 160: Suisse: Vallée d'ObermannAnnées de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse, S 160Années de pèlerinage, Troisième année: Les jeux d'eaux à la villa d'Este, S 163 no. 4Années de pèlerinage, deuxième année: Tarantella da Guillaume Louis CottrauBagatelle sans Tonalite, S 216aBallade no. 2 in B minor, S 171Concerto Pathétique, S 258Consolation Nr. 3 in Des-Dur, S172 Nr.3Csárdás macabre, S 224Danse macabre, piano transcr. of Camille Saint-Saëns' Op.40, S 555Dante SymphonyDer Müller und der Bach (transcription from Die Schöne Müllerin by Schubert) S 565 no. 2Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters, S.6Die Lorelei, S 273Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, S 274Don Sanche, ou Le château de l'amourEine Faust-Symphonie in drei Charakterbildern, S 108En Rêve, S 207Enfant, si j'étais roi, S 283Fantasie and fugue on the theme B-A-C-H, S 529Fantasie und Fugee zu "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam" S 259Fantasy on Hungarian folk melodies S 123Finale from Verdi's Don Carlos – Coro di festa e marcia funebre, S. 435Grand Études de Paganini, S141 Nr.3 in gis-Moll "La Campanella"Gretchen am Spinnrade, D 558 no. 8 (transcribed from Schubert D 118)Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses: Invocation, S 173 no. 1Harmonies poétiques et religieuses: Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude, S 173 no. 3Harmonies poétiques et religieuses: Cantique d'amour, S 173 no. 10Harmonies poétiques et religieuses: Funérailles, S173 Nr.7Hungaria, symphonic poem no. 9, S 103Isolde's Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, transc. for piano, S 447Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 Es-Dur, S 124Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 in A-Dur, S125Klaviersonate in h-Moll, S178Les Préludes, Symphonische Dichtung Nr. 3, S97Liebesbotschaft, S 560 no. 10 (transcribed from Schubert's D 957 no. 1)Liebestraum no. 3 in A flat major, S 541Liebesträume, S 541LiveLégende no. 2 "Saint François de Paule marchant sur les flots", S 175Malédiction for piano and string orchestra, S 121MayerlingMephisto Polka, S 217Mephistowalzer Nr. 1, "Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke", S 514Nuages gris (Grey Clouds), S 199Oh! Quand je dors, S 282Orpheus, symphonic poem no. 4 for orchestra, S 98Paraphrase on Verdi's "Il Trovatore", S 433Prometheus, S 99Präludium und Fuge über den Namen BACH, S 260Quand tu chantes bercée, S 306aRhapsodie Espagnole, S254Rigoletto: Paraphrase de Concert, S 434Romance oubliée, for piano, S 132Réminiscences de Don JuanRéminiscences de Don Juan for two pianosS'il est un charmant gazon, S 284Sinfonías de Beethoven, S 464: Sinfonía núm. 5 en do menor, Op.67Ständchen, from Schubert's Leise flehen meine lieder, D 957, S 560/7Tasso: Lament and Triumph, symphonic poem, S 96Totentanz for piano and orchestra, S 126Totentanz, S 525Tre sonetti di Petrarca, S 270Tristia, transcription de la "Vallée d'Obermann"Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust, S. 110Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 12 in cis-Moll, S244/12Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 13 in a-Moll, S244/13Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 2 in cis-Moll, S244/2Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 6 in Des-Dur, S244/6Unstern! Sinistre, disastro, S 208Valse de concert sur deux motifs de Lucia et Parisina de Donizetti, S.214 no.3Valse no. 6 « Soirée de Vienne » d'après SchubertValse oubliée, S215 no.2Variations on a theme from Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen by JS Bach, S 180Venezia e Napoli: TarantellaVia Crucis, S 53Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe (From the Cradle to the grave), Symphonic Poem, S 107Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, transcr. for piano, S 442Weihnachtsbaum: O heilige Nacht! (O Holy Night), S 186 no.2Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, organ prelude after JS Bach cantata, S 179Widmung, transcription of Schumann's liebeslied for piano, S 566Études d'exécution transcendante d'après Paganini, S 140Études d’exécution transcendante, S139 Nr.12: Chasse neige