Liszt (with CD-ROM)

Author: Yang Zhen
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: Franz Liszt was born in Raiding, Hungary in 1811 and died in Bayreuth in 1886. He was a Hungarian pianist and composer. His father was an outstanding amateur musician. Liszt received musical education from a young age and was able to play the highly difficult E-flat Major Piano Concerto by Ries at the age of nine. With the support of a group of Hungarian nobles, he studied for six years. In 1822, the family moved to Vienna, where he studied piano with Czerny and theory with Salieri. He was a master of piano performance, revolutionizing and expanding the piano playing techniques of his time. He was also a composer with creative achievements, being the founder of the modernly significant genre of symphonic poems. To understand Liszt's piano concertos, one must first understand his playing style. His innovations and talent in piano performance seemed to rival the genius of violinist Niccolò Paganini in the violin field. When Liszt sat at the piano and played, the strings resonated not just with individual notes, but with a magnificent scene that captivated the audience. Pianist Clara Schumann, upon hearing Liszt play for the first time in 1838, said, "I couldn’t help but weep; he conquered me. Before Liszt, all other pianists seemed insignificant—even Thalberg." The renowned conductor and pianist Charles Hallé, after attending one of Liszt’s concerts, recalled: "His playing style was as majestic as his genius. At a concert where he played piano and Berlioz conducted the symphony, Berlioz first conducted the 'March to the Scaffold' from Berlioz’s 'Symphony Fantastique,' a brilliant orchestral piece. But before the concert ended, Liszt alone played the piano arrangement of this movement, which surpassed the effect of the entire orchestra and produced an incredible intensity. Liszt had another aspect—he was a composer with a poetic temperament. Schumann, who opposed cheap external effects in performance, said after hearing one of Liszt’s solo concerts in 1840 that Liszt’s playing was indeed brilliant, but he more admired Liszt’s charming tenderness. He said, apart from Chopin, no one else could match him in this regard."