Contents
Franz Liszt
Transforming virtuoso piano performance and composing works that stretched the instrument’s expressive possibilities.
Transcendental Études · Piano Sonata in B minor
- Born
- 22 October 1811
- Birthplace
- Doborján, Kingdom of Hungary (now Raiding, Austria)
- Died
- 31 July 1886
More people
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt became a celebrated touring pianist before concentrating more fully on composition, conducting and teaching. His music links spectacular technique with poetic subjects and experiments in musical form.
Early life
A musical father
His father Adam encouraged his early piano playing and arranged performances that attracted financial support for further training.
Vienna and Paris
Lessons with Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri preceded a move to Paris, where he continued developing as a young performer.
Career
- 1820s
A child performer
Early concerts established his reputation beyond his Hungarian birthplace.
- 1830s–1840s
The touring virtuoso
European tours made his piano recitals major public events.
- 1848–1861
Weimar years
Conducting and composing in Weimar gave him time to develop orchestral works and support other composers.
- 1860s–1880s
Teaching across cities
He divided later years between centres including Rome, Weimar and Budapest, mentoring younger musicians.
Selected work
Transcendental Études
Twelve studies make extreme technical demands serve contrasting musical characters.
Piano Sonata in B minor
Recurring ideas bind a large, continuous work into a tightly connected dramatic argument.
Les Préludes
An orchestral symphonic poem explores the possibilities of a single-movement, poetic form.
Beyond work
Supporting other composers
He promoted music by contemporaries through conducting, arrangements and practical help.
Religious commitments
He took minor Catholic orders in 1865 and wrote substantial sacred music alongside secular works.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Featured contribution ↗Photo: Herman Biow. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
