The World of Arts
Franzt Liszt: Romance and poetry in his scores
by Gwen Herat
MUSIC: Highly strung and very emotional, Franz Liszt once
considered joining the order after being devastated by the death of his
father when he was very young. The year was 1827 and Liszt, by then, had
established himself as an excellent pianist after having his first piano
lesson 1817.
His parents had moved to Vienna and then to Paris to accommodate his
studies and music lessons. While in Vienna, he was tutored by Czerry and
Salleri and debutted in may concerts.
In the process Liszt met Schurbert and Beethovan. With his move to
Paris with his mother, he taught the piano to many students. He was
widely read and his ardour for literature, brought him in contact with
Victor Hugo and Berlioz. He first visited England in 1824 and was
privileged to play for King George IV. He saw Paganini play and often
listened to the haunting melodies of Chopin. He met this great composer
later and became close friends.
His personal life was interrupted when he met Princess Carolyne von
Sayn Willgenstein and later in the year, settled down with her. This was
in the rebound of pain and heartburn he suffered after living with
Countess Mario d'Agoult from 1835 to 1844. She bore him three children
but they parted in bad taste.
Personal problems
It was Carolyne who brought him sunshine after the emotional
experience he had with Mario. It was her understanding that made Liszt
to start conducting with success. In 1850, he raised the baton for the
premiere of Wagner's Lohengrin in August. This gave him the opportunity
to meet Wagner in Switzerland.
Though they were very warm and cordial to each other, everything did
not work well between the two. He finalised the scoring of The First
Symphony and conducted its premiere in September 1857.
Again, Liszt is gripped in personal problems, this time with Carolyne.
He decides to give up plans to marry Carolyne and lives alone in Rome.
He is further devastated by his mother's death in 1866 and leaves for
Paris.
Landmark
A landmark in his life was the performance of the Coranatton Mass in
Budapest. The year was 1867. Liszt decided to patch up the bad feelings
he had with Wagner in 1877. Almost ten years later, he visits London and
other cities and find the time to listen to Tristan play. He died on 31
July, 1886.
Liszt was a devout catholic and was influenced by his faith which is
symbolic in his soft, alluring scores. There is an epic quality about
his music. A Romanticism-inspired composer, his works were also used for
ballet excerpts. He wrote intimate miniatures such as his six
Consolations. Yet some of his greatest keyboard music stormed the
heights of virtuosity.
First Memphisto Waltz for the piano was one of his favourite pieces
that he dedicated to his mother. As a practising Catholic, he wrote many
sacred works during the later part of his life. Most of these scores are
played in church services and at requiem services.
In fact, Pope Pius IX visited Liszt in Rome and asked him to here him
play and Liszt obliged with humility, declaring later that it was one of
his memorable days.
His brilliance was so immaculate that he was able to establish the
symphonic poem as a musical form. This was on the basis that Liszt was
in a position to pictorial and literary themes. his remarkable
innovation at times, ended as a score on dissonance.
With so many great composers during his lifetime, Liszt was able to
stand out as the most gifted composer among them which prompted his
compatriot, Bartok to openly declare that Liszt was even greater than
Wagner. And he is to date. |
