Franz Liszt has emerged as one of the most
awe-inspiring figures in all of music history. As
perhaps the greatest pianist of all time, who out
played such greats as Chopin and Thalberg, he also
proved to be a profound composer and musical
pioneer. His unique compositions bewildered,
inspired and inflamed the imaginations of his own
era, yet quite miraculously they also laid the seeds
for future generations.

A brief overview indicates; (1) His piano
compositions stand as pinnacles of the literature,
(2) he was one of the first modern conductors
breathing life into a score in lieu of merely beating
time, (3) he invented the symphonic poem, a new
and elastic form to pour his unique ideas,(4) he
developed the transformation of themes, later
imitated by Wagner as a leitmotif, (5) he was the
true pioneer of impressionism and atonal
music,(6) he was the first ever to orchestrate on the
piano,(7) he taught freely creating a school of
disciples (Von Bulow, Rosenthal, Siloti,
Friedheim, d'Albert and others) that carried his
blazing torch forward,(8) his strikingly original
orchestrations also utilized unconventional
instruments such as the triangle Piano Concerto #1
, harp Dante Symphony and bass drum Heroide
Funebre ,(9) he was a philanthropist offering solo
piano recitals (which he devised!) to raise funds
for national disasters, charities or erecting the
Beethoven monument which was largely due to his
efforts,(10) and he promoted the works of such
greats as, Wagner, Grieg, Smetana, Berlioz,
Debussy, Saint-Saens, Faure, Borodin and others
who all likewise gained valuable artistic insights
into their own creativity by this grand master of
sound.

Yet, to comprehend the rare and powerful genius
of Franz Liszt it's crucial to not only examine the
complex higher being that he was, but also to
understand and reveal the ignorance of his
detractors with the aid of hindsight and wisdom.
For they sadly amassed a dark cloud of skepticism
that obscured reality.

For those interested I strongly suggest seeking out
Alan Walker's enlightening three volumes, or
books by Ernst Burger or Derek Watson, yet to
briefly touch upon this issue it is evident that many
rivals and turncoat friends did a great injustice to
this man. None of them; Hanslick, Clara Schumann
or Joachim to name a few, were as magnanimous
or gifted as he was and perhaps they resented it.
This commentary primarily focuses on Liszt's
assets because the reader is probably familiar with
the lies and misconceptions or the attacks on his
personal life which only reveal that this Godlike
figure was in fact human- which his saintly critics
sadly neglect. We mortals all have flaws, yet we all
can't create like Liszt! On the personal home front
Liszt's amorous affairs left open a door for the
critics to attack, yet on the musical front their
narrow-minded inability to grasp something far
greater than their own self-inflated intellect caused
their own demise. Their fate fell to the course of
time only to reveal Liszt's colossal influence and
their own Lilliputian limitations. Yes Liszt was
flesh and blood and made mistakes but his
miraculous musical achievements and his selfless
goodwill to his fellow man reach the pinnacle of
human endeavor. Thus earning him the title
"Godlike" from many then and perhaps even more
now.
 
 
 

This popular public figure who traveled endlessly
came in contact with numerous so-called
journalists and critics, whereas other composers
less transient escaped such malignant encounters.
If Liszt would engage in one love affair the papers
conjured 20. The mere fact that Liszt's all
encompassing mind and talents procured works of
diabolical proportions frightened many, thus
linking him with Paganini as being in league with
the devil. Such endeavors still intimidate some
today, yet they sadly neglect the full breath of his
worldly visions. Liszt wasn't all thunder and
lightening. As Leonard Bernstein praised Mahler
for his worldly variety Liszt in comparison exceeds
even Mahler. Whereas Mahler tried to incorporate
the World into his symphonies from a personal
and inward perspective Liszt's Worldly philosophy
was cultivated by a life of traveling and being a
multicultural-sponge. Thus he was able to achieve
what others could only imagine. Simply put, Liszt
had more to offer.

His oeuvre included multinational pieces (Spanish
Rhapsody, Abschied etc.), deeply religious works
(the Oratorios, Psalms, Masses etc.), silly romps
(Grand galop chromatique), doleful laments (La
lugubre gondola), dreamy pieces (Piano Concerto
#2 - intro), triumph over adversity (Tasso,
Prometheus), portraits (Hamlet, Orpheus,
Ladislaus Teleki), impressions (Les Jeux d'Eaux
a'la Villa d'Este, Les cloches de Geneve), folk
songs & waltzes (Hungarian Rhapsodies,
Mephisto Waltz) spine tingling virtuosity
(Totentanz,etc.) and of course tender love
melodies (Liebestraume, Romance oubliee, etc.).
His music literally took us on a journey to
everywhere! Both, outwardly from his worldy
interest in people, cities and nature to inwardly into
his profound beliefs in Art, Literature and God.

Numerous news articles naturally praised his
achievements yet he did suffer from what we today
would liken to the tabloids, which attempted to soil
his reputation. The result being a culmination of
improprieties that "temporarily" blurred the vision
of history. It's unfortunate that Liszt had to endure
such humiliation, as he would in later life insist to
his students not to perform his works in public,
since the selfless Liszt didn't wish to hinder their
careers. Yet it's comforting to know that the truth
does eventually prevail. For music history has
dramatically been altered by the ingenious
inventions of this superlative master far more than
any such rivals, and possibly more than any other
composer in history.

It's truly gratifying to see how Liszt's sublime
influence cascades over the centuries like a
beautiful glissando.

What made Liszt so fascinating was his relentless
quest to experiment in all facets of sound. A
pioneer at every stage of his life Liszt had no rivals
only followers.
 
 

As a young man; his music could be; radical
like Mazeppa, enigmatic like Chasse -neige, or
enchanting like Harmonies du soir. And,
while he did obviously learn from Paganini
(virtuosity), Chopin (lyricism) and Berlioz
(orchestration) close scrutiny reveals his
predisposition towards these elements, as
some of his early compositions dating before
their acquaintance attest. Such as Ricordanza
which was said to be Chopinesque was
actually written before he ever met Chopin! It
was he who devised the Piano Recital and as
such he faced the piano sideways for the
audience's visual and acoustic pleasure. This
common place event today was unheard of
before Liszt. Previously soloists were expected
to share the stage with singers and an
orchestra. But Liszt's new style of orchestrating
on the piano was sufficient enough to conjure
up the demons and angels of his Sturm und
Drang  visions, without assistance. That
coupled with new advances in piano
technology lead to unprecedented
performances. While sometimes wearing
gloves and honorary medals the frenzied
spectacles that occurred from these electrifying
events was the true embryo of modern day
hysteria at Rock concerts. How novel that
modern Rock stars with long hair and
ornamental garb play to adoring fans. Little do
they know the true pioneer in stage
performance existed over a hundred years
before they were even born!

In mid-age; in 1848, the world's greatest
pianist retired from the concert platform and
settled in Weimar as Court Kapellmeister. It
was here in this quaint German village that
Liszt devised the symphonic poem, which
subsequent composers would openly embrace.
This gave vent to his revolutionary forms of
musical expression which rocked and cracked
the fragile and orderly walls of classical
restraint. This is the era of; Les Preludes, A
Faust Symphony, Hamlet, and Prometheus. It
was these innovative works that served as
Wagner's home study course for writing the
"music of the future." An undertaking which
Wagner never wished to acknowledge in
public. Hence, Richard stole the crown from
the king. Likewise a full stream of rich piano
works such as the Sonata in B minor, the 6
Consolations, Dante sonata and more all
flowed from Liszt's pen culminating into some
of the most powerful pieces ever written for
the piano, and certainly pinnacles of the
mid-Romantic era. It is key to note that Liszt's
musical vision differed from Berlioz,Wagner
or the later Strauss in that he chose to express
the inner more-profound essence of his
subject matter. Rather than merely painting a
visual picture of events in sound, which he felt
was better left to a painter, he would reveal the
dreamy, contemplative and emotional aspects
which music's mysterious language was better
equipped to express. In doing so his works
offer a wider variety of instrumental textures
and timbers while elevating his subject from
the particular to the universal.Flowing
seamlessly between full scoring and
chamber-like sections it was crucial for Liszt
that poetic content dictate form, not vice-versa.
 

And, as an old master composing in
semi-seclusion he wrote what is now
considered perhaps his most prophetic and
mind boggling works ever. It was with pieces
like; En Reve-nocturne, Nuages gris, Les Jeux
d'Eaux a'la Villa d'Este, Bagatelle Sans
Tonalite'and Unstern!-Sinistre, that Liszt laid
the blueprints for the works of Debussy and
Schoenberg who made claim to these new
forms a century later. Where in the past it was
Liszt's colleagues who benefited from his
genius now it was to future generations that
"The Merlin of Music" bequeathed his magic.
 
 

It is also curious that Franz Liszt had many
parallels to Leonardo DaVinci. The old Italian
master was of the highest order in the arena of
invention and so too was Liszt. DaVinci
experimented in science and the arts procuring new
techniques and visions never before seen by man
while Liszt too created soundscapes so unique and
bewildering to his contemporaries that even the
great Hans Von Bulow could not fathom how to
conduct a work like Hamlet.

Granted both did fall prey to the pitfalls associated
with experimentation, as can be witnessed by the
deterioration of DaVinci'sLast Supper or the
stylistic fluctuations in Liszt's Christus Oratorio.
Yet, both pieces are masterworks of the highest
order as they both broke ground in countless ways
and move us with their profound vision. As for
their seemingly precarious methodology it's key to
remember, only by abandoning the norms and
plodding into the deep, dark abyss of the unknown
can one engender and reveal the nebulous wonders
that lay hidden to lesser beings.

Franz Liszt has always been assured a lofty place in
the Pantheon of Composers, yet on that celestial
horizon of stars only a select few burn with fervid
intensity... Liszt is one of them.