Liszt

There is perhaps no 19th century musician who has a more multi-faceted reception history than Franz Liszt. He was the inventor of modern piano culture, a lover of augmented and diminished chords (see the Nuages Gris music video!), and a trail-blazing genre creator. In the eyes of some however, he was merely a charlatan who was able to make the most of his personal charm and instrumental talents. Since he first stepped on stage, he has suffered from accusations of being a “mere” virtuoso. While their were certainly many shallow elements to his showmanship, you can read Pierre-Nicolas’s essay on virtuosity which reframes the aesthetic merits of virtuoso performance in an effort to pump fresh blood into a performance practice in danger of atrophy.

Outside of the piano, Liszt was also one of Richard Wagner’s closest colleagues and friends.

In a way, he was the John-the-Baptist of Richard Wagner. Liszt was one of Wagner’s most loyal and ardent champions, writing transcriptions as “modest propaganda on behalf of the sublime genius of Richard Wagner.” He also premiered Lohengrin in Weimar. Wagner himself was generally pro-Liszt, if for no other reason than Liszt was pro-Wagner. Nevertheless, there were fundamental political and aesthetic differences between the two that made for a complex relationship, to say nothing of the fact that Liszt was also Wagner’s father-in-law.

You can check out our companion video for more on Liszt as well as a brief trip to Liestal, Switzerland!