Ethan- Week 17- The Life and Legacy of Virtuoso Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt (Liszt Ferenc), the Hungarian master pianist and composer, was born on October 22, 1811. He is considered to be the greatest piano player and most difficult composer ever to set face on the earth, and there will likely never be anyone who comes even close to his incredible legacy. Liszt showed great musical talent from an early age. His father, Adam Liszt, knew how to play the cello and was familiar with music theory, so began to give his son piano lessons at age five. Liszt already began composing at age eight and performing in front of large crowds. His early compositions were not great and he always had an unconventional approach to playing the piano. He liked to play very loud, quick, and crazy and ended up breaking many pianos after playing like such. But, little did he know that soon he would end up revolutionizing piano playing, composition, and style forever. Liszt was greatly influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven growing up and he was even able to study music with him. But, unlike conventional piano playing from composers like Beethoven or Mozart, Liszt wanted more and continued to maintain his unique style. Before Liszt, all compositions were much simpler, not as difficult or complex, and did not attempt to play flashy. In his mid-late twenties, however, Liszt completely changed how people viewed music and he began composing and performing unfathomable works. His pieces contained constant crossing of the hands, lightning speed variations, complex and beautiful melodies, gigantic simultaneous chords, insane runs up and down the piano, and a completely new approach to performing. The way piano concerts used to be held was there was generally an orchestra alongside the piano, and the performer would read from sheet music. Liszt completely abolished this norm as he wanted to perform solo and be the star. Additionally, he memorized every one of his pieces and never sight-read. Nowadays, almost all performances are done this way. This atypical style he adopted attracted kings and queens all over the world begging him to play for them. People paid insane amounts of money just to hear him perform. Crowds went wild for Liszt and his name rang in chants throughout the crowds. He would play like no one has ever played before, his songs were all about flash and difficulty, and he was able to mix such complex patterns with pretty melodies in such an amazing way. He found inspiration from Church music and Roma music where he took most of his melodies from, and the way he was able to spin them into his works was remarkable. Still to this day, many study his intricate and unique music and wonder how this genius was possible. His music is still popular today and can be found in Tom and Jerry and in Looney Tunes (link below). Any song with his name on it will most likely be insanely hard and would require years of practice to even attempt. He was famous for his transcription ability, transcribing music from other instruments into piano music. He transcribed many famous songs from the legend, Nicolas Paganini, arguably the greatest violinist in history, into his own version on the piano. He has six Paganini Grande etudes, which include the famous song “La Campanella'' that many of you have probably heard at some point. What is so crazy is that at one point Liszt gave up the piano for a couple of years until hearing Paganini play the violin. After experiencing such greatness, he vowed that he would become the greatest piano player of his time and become as good at the piano as Paganini was at the violin. He practiced for hours and hours every single day and studied with Karl Czerny, a former student of Beethoven for piano technique, and Antonio Salieri who taught him composition. Not only did he have the best teachers in the world, but he grew up in a time of musical prodigies like Frederic Chopin, Edvard Grieg, Clara Schumann, Beethoven, Paganini, etc. Liszt was born with a once in a lifetime talent, insanely large hands (could reach 12 notes, or 4 above an octave just like Rachmonoff), incredible creativity, and had the best teachers and influences in the world, all allowing him to become a legend in history, the greatest piano player to ever live, and the most complex composer in history. His unique circumstances explain why there will likely never be a composer or performer that reaches his heights, but you never know what the future entails. Finally, I have learned two Liszt pieces in my entire life, and I am almost finished with my third. They are incredibly hard and take months of practice to learn, but the rewards of playing such awesome music are definitely worth it. I have linked some crazy videos below that I suggest you check out. I know many of you are not as interested in music, but for those who are, do you think someone was better than Liszt? Possibly Rachmaninoff?

1. The song I am currently on page 10 of (skip to near the end)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Blf8Y527DY

2. Tom and Jerry link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edsTpiizBKY

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Liszt

https://study.com/academy/lesson/franz-liszt-biography-music-facts.html#:~:text=The%20Liszt%20family%20moved%20to,Court%20Composer%2C%20taught%20him%20composition.

https://www.biography.com/musician/franz-liszt