The Funk and Wagnalls Family Library of Great Music: Liszt
Contents
A look at the life and work of Franz Liszt through the Funk and Wagnalls Family Library of Great Music.
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, and teacher. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. He was also a prolific composer, writing over 600 works. Many of his pieces are considered staples of the classical piano repertoire.
His Life
Franz Liszt was born to Anna Liszt and Adam Liszt on October 22, 1811, in the village of Doborján in the Kingdom of Hungary, which was then part of the Habsburg Empire. He was baptized in honor of Prince Franz I of Bavaria, the first crown prince of Bavaria and later King. At age nine he began touring Europe with his father; as a result he received an erratic education, but he possessed perfect pitch and could sight-read music with ease. He gave his first public performance in 1822 at a concert in Pest (now part of Budapest). Soon afterward his father quit performing to concentrate on teaching piano; for several years the boy studied music with him. In 1827 mother and son settled permanently in Budapest.
Liszt’s first known composition, a piano piece called “Kleine Trauermusik” (“Little Funeral Music”), was written in 1827 in memory of Adam Liszt’s friend Johann Georg Leopold Agthe. In 1828–29 Liszt attended the newly founded Vienna Conservatory (now part of Vienna University), where he studied under Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri. Because Salieri refused to teach him any more after only six lessons (reportedly because he found Liszt’s progress too rapid), Liszt transferred to the Kassel Conservatory for two years but found its teaching methods old-fashioned; there he did not study composition at all but only practical subjects such as harmony and counterpoint. In Kassel he met Friederike Meyer, an aspiring singer whom he married secretly in Hamburg on December 4, 1833; they divorced three months later.
His Music
Franz Liszt was born in Hungary in 1811 and died in 1886. He was the greatest piano virtuoso of his time, and his highly original music had a profound influence on subsequent composers. A volatile and brooding personality, he was at once a composer, a virtuoso concert pianist, a conductor, and a champion of the rights of artists. He spent much of his life as a traveling concert pianist, wowing audiences with his technical prowess and stage presence.
Liszt’s music is marked by its intense emotional character, spectacular use of the piano’s resources, and sometimes controversial departure from traditional structural models. He was one of the first composers to make extensive use of the piano’s pedals, which allowed him to create new sounds and textures. He was also one of the first to write music for solo piano that was meant to be played on the modern Concert Grand Piano. His music often explores themes of death, religion, and love, and his later works are some of the most progressive in all of 19th-century classical music.
The Funk and Wagnalls Family Library of Great Music: Liszt
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, and organist of the Romantic era. He was also a philanthropist, benefiting many charities during his lifetime. As one of the most prominent representatives of the New German School, Liszt was amusic pioneer in the development of the piano sonata, the symphonic poem, and other musical forms.
What It Is
The Funk and Wagnalls Family Library of Great Music: Liszt is a four- record set that contains a wide variety of Liszt’s music. This set is a great introduction to his music for those who are not familiar with it. The records are organized chronologically, starting with some of his early works and moving on to his later, more famous pieces.
What It Includes
This set includes all of Franz Liszt’s works for solo piano, as well as his concertos, symphonies, Hungarian Rhapsodies, and other orchestral works. It also includes his lieder and choral works.
