Ferenc Liszt József Gregor Általános Iskola A Quest for Heroes
Ferenc Liszt A Hero, who didn’t speak Hungarian, but was proud to be Hungarian. He was born on October 22, 1811 in a small village called Doborján – today it belongs to Austria and is called Raiding.
Liszt's father played the piano, violin, cello and guitar. He began teaching Ferenc the piano at age seven. Ferenc began composing in an elementary manner when he was eight.
He also appeared in concerts. His public debut in Vienna on December 1, 1822 was a great success. He was greeted in Austrian and Hungarian aristocratic circles and also met Beethoven and Schubert.
While he was in Italy in 1838, he heard about the Great Flood in Pest. He immediately travelled to Vienna and gave 8 concerts to collect money for the victims. It was then when he ralized he was Hungarian.
He used 75% of his concert income for charity. He financed the foundation and building of the Academy of Music in Budapest where he taught piano for free.
He is a European hero, because his life and music symbolizes general human values and unity.
He is a Hungarian hero, because, he did not hesitate to spend time and money to help the people and the country.
The Australian Leslie Howard recorded all Liszt’s piano concerts. It took 15 years and the 94-piece-CD collection earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records.