Franz Liszt b. October 22, 1811 in Raiding, Hungary d. July 31, 1886

Early Life Liszt’s father was a steward in the service of the Esterhazy family. He was also a skilled musical amateur. Franz was born just 2 years after Haydn died. Liszt was a child prodigy: –he could play the piano well at the age of 7 –He was composing at the age of 8 –He was appearing in concert at 9 –At 10 he was sent to Vienna to study with two famous composers. A group of Hungarian noblemen subsidized his studies.

Early Life, continued Having toured much of Europe by the age of 16, he briefly considered giving it all up to join the clergy. By the age of 19, though, he had made his peace with his profession. Liszt was the “Elvis” of his time. He was a virtuoso, a very showy performer who displayed exceptionally advanced skill on his instrument. Liszt invented the solo recital.

Paris Paris became his headquarters in 1827 after the death of his father. In addition to his music, he worked to fill gaps in his education by reading the great literature of the day, including the Bible. In Paris, he met 3 musicians who influenced him for life: Berlioz, Paganini, and Chopin.

Influences Berlioz helped him discover the meaning of color and the meaning of thinking BIG. Through him, he learned to orchestrate on the piano. Paganini lent Liszt a sense of showmanship and inspired him with his technique. He even transcribed some of Paganini’s Etudes for the piano. (Like Liszt, Paganini was a virtuoso.) Chopin taught Liszt subtlety and a more poetic musical style.

Music His early music consisted of virtuoso fluff and a forgotten opera. From 1829 to 1834 he wrote a series of transcriptions of symphonies, Berlioz orchestral works, and opera excerpts. –Transcriptions are adaptations of music from one genre to another. (Orchestra to concert band, etc.) In 1835 he started to write more original music.

Symphonic Poem Liszt liked to create his own forms. One new form he developed was called the Symphonic Poem. A Symphonic Poem is a musical form consisting of just one movement, inspired by an outside stimulus such as a poem, painting, or play. Listen: Hungarian Rhapsody #2 Listen: Les Preludes

Making a Living In addition to performing and composing, Liszt also worked as a conductor and as a piano teacher. As a conductor, he presented the music of many Romantic composers, including Wagner, Berlioz, and Schumann.

Last Years Of the Romantic composers, Liszt lived the longest. He met Beethoven as a young man, yet he outlived Schumann, Chopin, and Berlioz. Liszt encouraged many young composers, especially nationalists. Even more radically chromatic than Chopin, Liszt may have had more influence in the way music developed than any other Romantic composer.