Brief biography sheet for children. Franz Liszt Biography Briefly

F. Liszt - 19th century engraving

Franz Liszt lived and worked in one of the most difficult to play and difficult to perceive, romanticism of the nineteenth century. This was another round in the evolution of music, which turned into the appearance of a galaxy of famous musicians and historical personalities in the musical field, such as Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Franz Schubert and many other musicians of those times.

At one time, the music of the era of romanticism was a response to the beginning of the era of the Enlightenment and scientific and technological development. People began to feel much freer, their imaginations painted the most unprecedented and unforgettable pictures ... Humanity reached its Golden Age, although it was not yet fully aware of it.

To make it easier for you to understand at what time Franz Liszt lived and worked, it is worth mentioning and even emphasizing that the development of the phenomenon of unification with nature had just begun, people (yes, this began to happen precisely during this period) began to arrange picnics, mountaineering and new travel routes. To a large extent, the development of this point of view in relation to the surrounding world was the appearance of vehicles such as a steam locomotive, a steamer and many others.

The person still did not quite understand what to do with all this, so he fell into excessive romanticism, which turned into classicism in painting, a cult of feelings and the natural in poetry (the same Pushkin) and in music (like the hero of our today's story).

Youth

Franz Liszt was born in Hungary on October 22, 1811. He was the only child in the family. His father, Georg Adam List, served in the administration of Prince Esterhazy. Esterhazy - these were the largest landowners in Hungary, they quickly enriched themselves and were considered equal to other European monarchs.

But back to the parents of the famous pianist and composer. Until the age of 14, the father of the future celebrity played in the prince's orchestra. He was a cellist. Then young Adam decided to become a novice of the Franciscan order, but two years later he changed his mind and left this order, although he continued to have warm feelings for him and named his son Franz in honor of him.

Franz (Ferenc) List himself also kept in touch with the Franciscans all his life, and at the end of his life he became one of them. But back to the composer's father. He also actively wrote music, dedicating it to the Hungarian monarchs. So he achieved a profitable appointment, and in his free time he continued to play in the orchestra. He played with many visiting musicians, and among them were such celebrities as Cherubini and. The latter became the idol of Adam, and then of his son, Franz.

Franz's mother was the daughter of a baker, worked as a maid as a child, since she was orphaned very early (at the age of nine), and at the age of twenty she moved to Mattersburg to live with her brother. There she met Adam, who was just visiting his father. Shortly after they met, they decided to get married.

Ten months after the wedding, they had a son, whom they named Franz. It is strange that the Hungarian version of Ferenc is most often used. And it is strange because Liszt himself had a weak command of his native, it would seem, language.

From an early age, Adam began to diligently teach his son music. In addition, the child sang in the church choir, and also took lessons from a local organist.

After studying for three years, Franz, who was then eight, gave his first public concert. After this event, the father took the child to the noblemen, with whom he played the piano. They treated the baby very well, but Adam understood that Franz should continue to study. And they went to Vienna.

And so, starting in 1821, Franz Liszt began to study with the famous, who developed his versatility in the art of piano. He studied theory with Antonio Salieri, after which he began to delight the Viennese listeners. Even Beethoven was greatly satisfied with Liszt's playing.

Years in Paris

In 1823, young Franz moved to Paris. He was going to study at the Paris Conservatory, but he was not accepted there, since Franz was not of French origin. The financial situation of father and son became more and more difficult, but, despite such obviously interfering circumstances, they decided to stay in Paris.

Teachers from the Paris Conservatory sometimes studied with Franz, but no one else taught him to play the piano. Karl Cerny became his last teacher.

Franz was about fourteen years old when he began composing sketches. He even wrote the opera Don Sancho, or the Castle of Love, which was staged in 1825.

1827th year. Died Adam List. Franz was very upset by this incident. He remained depressed for almost three years. In addition, he was tired of the role of a foreign curiosity, which he was considered in local secular salons.

And Franz then tied so tightly to worldly life that his obituary was published. Naturally, he did not die, but the obituary had already been printed and published, and a mystical atmosphere began to grow around Liszt.

He began to appear in society only in 1830. Just the June Revolution took place, the noise, din and calls for justice carried away the young man. And he decided to write "Revolutionary Symphony".

Such famous musicians as Paganini, Berlioz (he had just written his "Fantastic Symphony") and others began to communicate with him. It was the first who provoked Liszt with his technical excellence. Franz decided to hone his piano skills.

Therefore, for some time he again went into the shadows, stopped performing with concerts and put Paganini's caprices for piano. It was from this moment that his brilliant experience in arranging music began.

In 1835, he decides to diversify his activities and begins to publish his articles, as well as teach music. He also met Marie d'Agu, who was a friend of his friend George Sand. Marie published her works under the pseudonym Daniel Stern, Liszt wrote articles and music. In the end, they fell in love with each other, and even her marriage did not stop the young lady. As a result, in 1835, she left her husband, and they left for Switzerland with Liszt.

Wanderings

The next period of Liszt's life lasted as much as thirteen years, from 1835 to 1849. At the same time, he created his famous collection of plays, which he called "The Years of Wanderings."

So they lived with Marie in Geneva, while he was moving to some picturesque village. Liszt began to teach at the Geneva Conservatory, made sketches for his collection of plays, and during the time he toured with concerts. But Paris was carried away by another musical curiosity, Thalberg, and little attention was paid to Liszt.

Together with Marie, he continued to publish articles, among which was "On the role of art and the position of the artist in modern society." They continued to live an active European life, and friends from Paris regularly came to them, for example, the same Georges Sand.

1837th year. Marie and Franz already had a child, and they decide to move to Italy. There they visit Rome, Naples, Venice and Florence, and Franz actively writes essays on the musical life in these cities. He draws them up in the form of a letter and publishes them in Paris, addressing Georges Sand. She answered him in the same spirit, publishing her answers in the same magazines.

In the same place, in Italy, Franz for the first time in history gives a solo concert without any participation of musicians, except for himself. Thus, concert performances were completely separated from salon performances.

During this time Liszt transcribed many of Beethoven's symphonies, which he played on the piano.

Franz wanted to visit Hungary, but Marie was categorically against this trip, and therefore, when there was a flood in Hungary, and Franz considered it his duty to help his compatriots, he broke up with his beloved and left for Hungary himself.

That Hungary, that Austria - these countries accepted Liszt simply excellently. By that time he was already a celebrity, and he was greeted with triumph. After one of the pianist's concerts in Vienna, Thalberg approached him and recognized Liszt's superiority in front of everyone.

In Hungary, List became the embodiment of the patriotic upsurge of the nation, and at the same time national pride. Nobles came to his concerts in national costumes and brought gifts. Liszt gave all the proceeds from the concerts to the victims of the floods.

Between 1842 and 1848 there was a peak of List's activity, he traveled all over Europe, including Russia and Turkey. Not all Russian composers liked him (for example, he did not want to recognize him in any way), but he started a correspondence with some of them. For example, with composers from The Mighty Handful. He rearranged the works of some Russian composers for piano, and then published them in the form of collections.

During this period of his life, Liszt, first of all, put educational activity in the first place. He played both piano compositions by great composers and their symphonies in his own arrangement for piano.

Caroline never became a legal wife, but later forced Liszt to take monastic vows and become a clergyman.

Around the same time, he met Caroline. She was married to a Russian general, but when did that stop him at all? In 1847, they secured her divorce and began to pursue their own wedding.

And in 1848 the couple settled in Weimar. There Liszt could fully exercise leadership over the musical life of the city, and he simply could not help but take advantage of this.

Franz has come to grips with the repertoire of the local opera house. He was completely disappointed in concert activity and its effectiveness, and therefore decided to try himself as a stage director. He entered into the repertoire of the works of classics such as Mozart and Gluck, as well as more modern authors.

But the audience didn't like the repertoire, and both the band and the audience began to complain regularly. Therefore, Liszt's intense composer's work should still be considered the main result of the Weimar period. He was finally able to put his notes in order, revised many of his writings and published the famous Years of Wanderings. As with Marie, Franz wrote various essays and articles with Caroline. In addition, it was at this time that he began to give his famous free music lessons, to which musicians from all over Europe came.

He became close to Wagner, sharing his beliefs. Together, in the fifties of the nineteenth century, they formed a union of German musicians, to which Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms also belonged. However, this did not prevent composers from conflicting with each other in the media available at that time.

Franz did not succeed in marrying Carolina. The son of List died, Franz himself was finally sick of the Weimar public's misunderstanding of his enlightenment efforts, and they went with Caroline to atone for their sins to Rome.

On the Sunset life

In the sixties, Franz and Caroline settled in Rome, but the unlucky composer no longer had to count on at least some semblance of married life. Not only did Caroline insist that they live in different houses, but she also forced him to take monastic vows and become a clergyman.

From now on, Liszt wrote more and more sacred music, philosophical motives were increasingly manifested in his work. In 1866, he returned to Weimar, where he continued to give music lessons to young people. Liszt's daughter became Wagner's wife.

In 1886, Liszt caught a bad cold at one of the festivals. His health continued to deteriorate and he soon died.

Creative heritage

How to perceive it, it's not even for us to decide, but history. Liszt became the embodiment of the era of romanticism, a musician who described the inner world of a person in as much detail as possible. He embodied everything that concert pianism aspired to. His technical possibilities for playing the piano were simply endless. To this day, the virtuosity of his playing and his works remain a beacon for other pianists. Both for those who are just beginning their creative path, and for those who have already learned the taste of art.

But it is worth noting that Liszt actively toured and performed only in the era of his youth. For example, his tour with tenor Giovanni Batiste Rubini in 1843 went down in history, and already in 1848 he stopped performing so actively, only occasionally delighting the audience with his unsurpassed technique.

Inventor in Music

Liszt loved to experiment with mixing musical styles.

Musical genres such as rhapsody and symphonic poem seem to be classical now, but at one time they were an outlandish novelty discovered by Franz Liszt. He also developed the theme of the one-part-cyclical form, on which Schumann and Chopin began to work.

In addition, Liszt loved to experiment with mixing musical styles. In 1850, he already quite seriously argued that the time of the pure arts was in the past, which became the reason for the appearance of musical works closely related to famous examples of painting.

So, Liszt wrote "Betrothal" based on the painting by Rafaello, and "The Thinker" based on the sculpture by Michelangelo. Like many other software pieces.

By the way, it is worth talking a little about what software music is. Strictly speaking, program music is a purely instrumental piece, without vocal accompaniment. Instead of the singer's voice, it is accompanied by an explanatory treatise, in which the main idea of ​​the melody is verbally conveyed. Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Bieber was known for his addiction to this genre of art, and so was Franz Liszt, albeit to a lesser extent.

He believed in the enlightening power of art, as well as in the fact that music can truly change humanity.

In addition, Ferenc conducted teaching activities, gave open lessons, never taking money for them. Pianists from all over Europe came to him.

He also wrote several books, among which was a book about Chopin, as well as a book about the music of Hungarian gypsies and a huge number of journalistic articles.

But in the end, Liszt, although he continued to create, was hopelessly disappointed with the fruits of his creativity. No matter how great a musician he was, he still did not achieve his goal. Although he managed to change the world.

As Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov wrote in his time, "if there weren't Liszt in the world, the whole fate of new music would have been different." You can specify - and the fate of Russian music in particular. Liszt not only personally communicated with many figures of Russian culture. Twice he came to the Russian Empire on tour, which excited his contemporaries, as evidenced by the memoirs and the press of that time. Liszt's Russian Voyages is a special page in his biography. We will focus our attention on it.

Franz Liszt

In March 1839, a concert took place in Rome in the house of Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn, which not only went down in the history of music as the first solo piano concert, but also laid the foundation for Liszt's ties with Russia. Here is how Stasov later wrote about this event: “At the beginning of 1839, among the many concerts given by Liszt in Rome, the concert given by him in the halls of Prince Dm. Vlad. Golitsyn, the Moscow governor-general, who then lived in Rome for quite a long time. This concert was arranged for a charitable purpose by Count Micah. Yuriev. Vielgorsky, then a famous Russian music lover and amateur composer. The audience was the most elite, including a lot of Russian nobility, as well as envoys from different states and Roman cardinals. The most remarkable thing about this aristocratic concert was that Liszt played alone all the time; there was no other music performer or singer besides him during the whole evening. That was perfect news then. No one before Liszt dared, during a whole concert, to occupy the attention of a whole assembly of listeners, and even such wayward, bizarre, spoiled and low-musical, as happens, in most cases, a gathering of aristocrats. Despite, however, no matter what, Liszt made a tremendous impression and took his audience with him. It can be assumed, not without reason, that some of the admired Russians again called Liszt to Petersburg. "

Indeed, the world-famous Liszt has already received invitations to come to Russia more than once. However, he decided on this trip only in 1842.

In the light of the above, it seems rather absurd to assume that some kind of special surveillance... It should be borne in mind that for all foreigners who stayed in the Russian Empire, legal supervision was established, which should not be demonized. “Under the supervision of foreigners in the Russian Empire is meant the activities of state bodies empowered to monitor the implementation of the prescriptions of laws and other regulations in relation to foreigners in order to ensure the security of the state and protect the interests of its subjects ... this is“ one of the forms of activity of state bodies to ensure the rule of law”(Italics mine - M.Z.)» .

Leaf was no exception to common regulations.

Emperor Nicholas I

Now let's turn to the very personality of the "tyrant autocrat". It has already become a kind of tradition to portray Nicholas I as “the gravedigger of Russian culture”, “a callous and limited soldier,” whose best music was military marches. And this myth is absolutely far from reality. In his youth, the emperor received a solid musical education, played several musical instruments, danced beautifully, had a subtle feel for church music and sometimes sang personally in a church choir. A special place in the musical predilections of the monarch was given to Russian music, in particular, he highly appreciated (and documentary evidence of this has survived) the operatic work of M.I. Glinka. Yes, he did not favor European art, and Liszt's work really left Nicholas I practically indifferent, unlike Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who invariably listened to his play "with tears in her eyes" and patronized him in every way. But in this case, we are only talking about fundamental aesthetic disagreements, speaking, first of all, about patriotic the preferences of the monarch.

Liszt, being a deeply religious Catholic, never been a politician, and his subjective political sympathies and antipathies were based mainly on patriotic and humanistic basis. This position, being generally consistent and logical, sometimes led Liszt, at first glance, to illogical actions. So List, demonstrating at different times loyalty to other monarchies, for example, to the same "heretical" English court, clearly opposed himself to the Russian monarch, in particular "on the Polish question." But the fact is that his native Hungary in its position was close to that of Poland, with the only significant difference that it was in the composition catholic empire... This means that in the eyes of Abbot Lamennais and Liszt, the position of Poland was much more difficult. At the same time, while supporting the Poles, List nevertheless, first of all, had in mind support for the national liberation movement of his own people.

Consider that politics was involved in the relationship between Liszt and Nicholas I, in other words, political structure of the state means to fall under the power of a fundamental error. The disagreements between the musician and the emperor were conflict of exclusively patriotic and religious, but not political interests.

Generally call this relationship conflict in the literal sense of the word - too great an exaggeration; the musician and the emperor were at absolutely different social levels, if not poles, in order to talk about the very possibility of any "conflicts" between them. Another thing is that Nicholas I could not remain indifferent to the manifestations of Liszt's principled predilections, already known in Russia and not without reason regarded as anti-Russian. By the way, a year after the St. Petersburg tour, Liszt was waiting for a triumph in Warsaw, which actually turned into a people's patriotic, again anti-Russian manifestation. But even after that, List was again freely admitted to the Russian Empire!

Best of all, the current situation was impartially described by Stasov in the brochure “Liszt, Schumann and Berlioz in Russia”: “In her biography of Liszt, Lina Ramann says that during Liszt's stay in St. (among whom there were still quite a few veterans of 1812 at that time), and Liszt allegedly refused, saying: “I owe France my upbringing and my fame. Therefore, it is impossible for me to sing in the same chorus with its winners ”; further, that Emperor Nicholas was allegedly very dissatisfied with such an answer and ordered him to inform, at hand, that, they say, the Emperor did not like his long hair and his political opinions (sympathy for the Poles), to which Liszt, smiling proudly, replied: “I have grown my hair in Paris and will cut it also only in Paris; as for my political opinions, I don’t and will not have them until I am able to deploy 300,000 bayonets to support them. ” This anecdote cannot be considered anything other than an absurd fairy tale. Emperor Nicholas was never engaged in organizing concerts and did not indulge in polemical discourses about hair and political opinions.(Italics mine .- M.Z.) He gave only orders, which were immediately carried out. It can be assumed that all these incongruous anecdotes had as their starting point that Emperor Nicholas had little love for music and was rarely present at concerts. He heard very little of the sheet, so<…>Petersburg court then divided into two camps: the military, which, together with the emperor, ignored Liszt, and the musical, which, together with the Empress (and Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna), adored Liszt and tried to listen to him. "

But how can one blame the head of state for “insufficient respect” for a talent, to put it mildly, unfriendly, and regard it as “the closeness of a tyrant-soldier in relation to progressive art” ?! Liszt freely entered the country, the best stages and concert venues were at his disposal, the press wrote enthusiastic reviews. Moreover, Nicholas I not only did not forbid the subsequent tours of the musician in the Russian Empire, but, we repeat, he was personally present, despite his dislike for western music, on several Liszt's concerts in St. Petersburg, which he was absolutely not obliged to do! By his very presence at the concert, the emperor gave Liszt a kind of indulgence. Seeing their monarch among the spectators, the entire high Petersburg society considered it their duty to take part in honoring a foreign celebrity. And the Tsar's wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, generally provided open support to the brilliant musician. And all this - "disfavor of the court"?

Was List able to impartially assess the honor bestowed on him? In order not to create a false impression of Liszt's “Russophobia”, let us immediately note that, according to Liszt's own confessions and the numerous memoirs of his contemporaries and biographers, in particular Yanka Vol, he “loved everything Russian very much ... In Rome, for the first time I heard from him the name of Antokolsky, the famous Russian sculptor ... Liszt followed with great attention the successes of the young Russian school, musical, artistic, literary. He said that in Russia not even the first word has been said of all that is almost completely exhausted in the West. Russia faces even more intellectual horizons than lands requiring exploitation. All innovations in all branches of science, art and literature will come from Russia ”.

Liszt always treated Russian culture with love and attention and was friendly with its numerous representatives. His sympathy for Russia is evidenced by his active propaganda of works of Russian music, and the number of Liszt's students of Russian origin. We can safely say that for Liszt art was a priority over any political collisions, and therefore, it is quite legitimate to talk about Liszt's sincere love for Russia.

But let us finally return to the success of the court concert on April 16 (4), which was complete. Rumors of a "miracle musician" spread throughout the city. On the eve of Liszt's first public appearance in St. Petersburg, newspapers were choking in anticipation of a sensation: “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! on wednesday (8 april) we will finally hear it. His - of course Liszt: what other musician can we talk about when he is here? " ...

On April 19 (7) Liszt was received at the house of Counts Vielgorsky, Mikhail and Matvey. It was here that List first met personally with Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka and with Vladimirov Fedorovich Odoevsky.

It is interesting to note that Glinka did not immediately appreciate Liszt's mastery of performance. According to Stasov's recollections, “Glinka answered without the slightest difficulty that something else Liszt plays excellently, like no one else in the world, and the other bearably, with a pre-fake expression, stretching the tempo and adding to other people's compositions, even to Chopin and Beethoven, Weber and Bach, a lot of his their own, often tasteless and worthless, empty ornaments. " In fairness, it should be noted that if Glinka was at that time an absolutely established creative person, then Liszt, as a composer, was still groping his way and did not even begin to create his main works. For Glinka, he was only performer and it is not surprising that it was precisely by the performance of Glinka's own works that Liszt was soon able to "win" the Russian composer to his side.

On the appointed day, April 20 (8), Liszt's first public concert took place in the hall of the Noble Assembly. The general impressions of the concert for many spectators were best conveyed by musical critic Stasov and composer Serov.

“We both with Serov already two hours before the beginning, appointed at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, climbed into the hall of the Assembly of the Nobility ... From the very first minute we were amazed by the unusual appearance of the hall. A small quadrangular stage was placed in the very middle of the hall, between the royal box and the large box opposite to it ... On this stage there were two pianos, ends apart, and two chairs in front of them: no orchestra, no instruments, no notes, no other musical preparations in the whole hall was not visible. Soon the hall began to fill, and then I saw, for the first time in my life - Glinka ... Serov and I were like madmen after the concert, we barely said a few words to each other, and each hurried home to quickly write one another our impressions, our dreams, our delights ... Here, by the way, we swore to one another that this day, April 8, 1842, is now and forever sacred to us and we will not forget a single line of it until the grave. We were like lovers, like madmen. And no wonder. We have never heard anything like this in our lifetime, and in general we have never met face to face with such a brilliant, passionate, demonic nature, now rushed by a hurricane, now overflowing with streams of gentle beauty and grace. "

Serov, in turn, wrote to Stasov: “It has been almost two hours since I left the audience, and I am still beside myself: where am I? Where are we? what is it, in reality or in a dream! Did I really hear Liszt? We must repent: I expected a lot from the descriptions, I had a presentiment of a lot out of some unknown conviction, but reality left all hopes far behind itself! We are happy, truly happy that we live in 1842, when there is such a performer in the world, and this performer came to our capital and we had a chance to hear him ... Oh, how happy I am, what a triumph today, as if all God's light is watching otherwise! And all this was done by one person by his performance! Oh, how great greatness is in music! ... Yes, now I understand why Liszt chose the piano as his instrument, and why he is only a performer! Now I understand what it means to perform and what music means. "

It is difficult to add anything to these two rave reviews, not just from the audience, but professional listeners, whose opinion was in many ways decisive for the musical community of the Russian Empire at that time.

The next day, April 21 (9), Liszt again played in the house of the counts of Wielgorski. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna honored the musical meeting with her presence.

And in the evening he was received by Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky. Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was again among the guests. It was then that Liszt first became acquainted with the music of the Russian genius, playing the introduction of Ruslan and Lyudmila from sight. Those present noted the depth of the performance and full penetration into the artistic meaning of the work. The author himself was finally subdued and recognized for Liszt a great and musically sensitive talent. Liszt himself immediately and forever fell in love with Glinka's music. True, on this visit, he was just “tasting it”, limiting himself to improvisations on Glinka's themes.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Liszt's “Russian composer's harvest” of 1842 included transcriptions of the romance by Mikhail Vielgorsky “I Loved”, “Two Russian Melodies. Arabesques "(Deux mélodies russes. Arabesques), the first of which is" Nightingale "by Alyabyev (Le rossignol, air russe d'Alabieff), and the second -" Gypsy song "(Chanson bohémien) after Bulakhov's song" You will not believe how you sweet ". In addition, Liszt wrote “Mazurka for Piano, composed by an amateur from St. Petersburg. Paraphrase by F. Liszt "(Mazurka pour piano composée par un amateur de St. Pétersbourg, paraphrasée par F. Liszt). Bergard Gustav von Lenz (1819 - 1884), the younger brother of a friend and disciple of Wilhelm von Lenz, is hiding under the name of “the amateur from St. Petersburg”.

On April 22 (10) Liszt played in the palace of the grandson of Paul I, Prince Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg. Wilhelm von Lenz, who was present at it, recalled this evening: “The impression made on me by his playing after a 14-year break will never fade out of my memory! dance "Weber ... Seeing my genuine amazement, Liszt patted me on the shoulder and said:" Yes, since you introduced me to Weber's works in Paris, I have made some progress. "

In the evening of the same day, Liszt again played for the entire imperial family at the invitation of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

On April 23 (11), Liszt's second public concert took place in the hall of the Nobility Assembly, after which he wrote to Marie d'Agou: “The hall was about two-thirds full, which in terms of income is much more than what other good and excellent concerts give ( Liszt's concert ticket cost 15 rubles; the price is extremely high. M.Z.). This time His Majesty the King was also present, which is an exceptional honor. "

Easter week began on April 25 (13). Public concerts were banned, but Liszt was unable to take a break from his busy touring schedule. Until May 4 (April 22), for which the third public concert was scheduled, he was forced to play in private homes and communicate with a huge number of people every day.

On May 7 (April 25), in the hall of the Nobility Assembly, List took part in a charity concert of the Philharmonic Society in favor of private schools of the St. Petersburg Patriotic Society, whose patron was the Prince of Oldenburg; May 10 (April 28) gave his fourth public concert in the Engelhardt Hall. May 12 (April 30) Liszt played at a charity concert in favor of the St. Petersburg Children's Hospital. On May 17 (5), Liszt's fifth public concert took place in the Engelhardt Hall.

One cannot pass over in silence another manifestation of Liszt's noble and sensitive nature. On the night of May 16-17, Hamburg suffered a tragedy. A monstrous fire destroyed almost the entire old city; more than 2,000 houses were burned down, the inhabitants of which were left homeless. Soon the sorrowful news reached St. Petersburg. Liszt was one of the first to respond to someone else's misfortune. On May 22 (10), he gave a charity concert, the entire collection from which (40,000 rubles) was sent to the victims of the fire. Alien grief for Liszt never happened.

Liszt's sixth public concert took place on May 27 (15) in the hall of the Noble Assembly. A farewell concert was scheduled for the next day. It took place in the house of counts Vielgorsky and was called by contemporaries "the greatest of musical mornings." In the evening of the same day Liszt left Kronstadt for Lubeck by steamer. Liszt's first tour in Russia is over.

Franz Liszt is an outstanding Hungarian musician, known as one of the most famous musical romantics, who laid the foundations of an entire school of music called Weimar.

Childhood and youth

Born October 22, 1811 in one of the small Hungarian towns - Doboryan. Ferenc was the only one in the family of a local official and the daughter of a baker. His father loved music and instilled this love in his son from childhood. He himself gave him music lessons.

In church, young Liszt learned to sing and play the organ. From the age of eight, the young virtuoso performs in concerts in front of the local nobility. In an effort to develop the talent of his son, father and son set off for the Austrian capital.

In Vienna, Liszt improved his skills in playing the piano, studied music theory with outstanding musicians. Each of his public appearances was a sensation for the local public. Beethoven admired his brilliant abilities.

At the age of twelve, the boy and his father moved to the capital of France, taking lessons from the best teachers of the Moscow Conservatory. Money is needed to live in Paris, so the father organizes the boy's concerts. Liszt creates his own repertoire. The opera, written by him in 1825, received public recognition.

In 1827, Ferenc's father died. The boy was very upset about his death and for a long time did not perform anywhere and did not appear.

Mature years

In the thirties, the musician was carried away by stormy revolutionary events and returned to music. He gave concerts that were a huge success, nurtured the idea of ​​a work on the theme of revolutionary events.

Ferenc met prominent musicians and writers. He was engaged in teaching, his house was visited by the best European pianists. He has published articles on the art of music and its problems. In the 30s and 40s he performed on tour in various European countries. In Weimar he was involved in the organization of musical life, in Switzerland - in teaching.

In the 60s he moved to Rome, where he created several significant religious works. Since 1875, President of the Higher School of Music in Hungary, he performed at festivals dedicated to Wagner. In the 60s, having moved to Rome, he focused on spiritual music.

In 1875 Liszt was elected president of the Hungarian Higher School of Music. Has performed at the Wagnerian festivals in Bayroth. He became seriously ill after performing at one of them. F. List died on July 31, 1986.

Franz Liszt

Engaged in composing since childhood, Liszt created mostly small pieces of music for his public performances. The opera, written by the young composer, was staged at the theater. Later he wrote over 640 works of various genres. At the same time, his merit is the creation of genres of symphonic poem and rhapsody.

Discoveries concerning the structure of musical forms and texture, harmonization and melody of the work have become an integral part of musical education and performing activity. In 1831, inspired by the genius Paganini, he transposed his caprices by Paganini for the piano, combining them into six etudes.

In the 30s of the XIX century Liszt was engaged in journalism, publishing articles on the problems of the musical art of its prominent representatives. His books on Chopin, the musical art of Hungarian gypsies, were very popular. An interesting experience is the experience of essays on musical life in the genre of writing, addressed mainly to Georges Sand. She answered them with essays in the magazine.

The composer and conductor received world recognition in the course of his active concert activity. His virtuosity has admired outstanding musicians and is a reference point for pianists of many generations. Music critics note his rich imagination, original view of art, originality and innovation. The composer's instrumental works are considered an important step in the development of musical architectonics.

Famous works

The richness and originality of works of different genres are a notable feature of Liszt's work. Almost half of these works are piano transcriptions. In total, he penned over six hundred works, including 63 orchestral, 13 poems for symphony orchestra, almost ninety works in the genres of song and romance.

His most famous musical works are:

• Hungarian Rhapsodies
• Symphonies "Divina commedia" and "Faust"
• Collection of plays "Years of Wanderings"
• Etudes of the Highest Performing Arts / Transcendental Etudes
• Etudes by Caprice by Paganini
• Poetic and Religious Harmony Consolations Hungarian Historical Portraits Sonata (1850-1853) First Concerto for Piano and Orchestra of the Legend of St. Elizabeth and Christ
• Grand Mass and Hungarian Coronation Mass

Personal life

Despite his simple origin, Liszt stood out for his aristocratic appearance, thin features of a pale face. He was invariably popular with women.

In the 30s, he had an affair with the Countess Marie d'Agu. The stormy romantic relationship of young people led to the fact that Marie left her husband's husband and broke with her social environment. The lovers went to Switzerland, then to Italy. Liszt went on tour from there to Paris and Vienna. The couple had a son and two daughters.

When Hungary suffered from a devastating flood, List decided to go home and help his fellow countrymen. However, Marie d'Agu rejected this idea and refused to go. He met a married Catholic Princess Wittenstein. Hopes for getting permission from the Pope and the Russian Emperor for divorce did not materialize. After the death of his son, List developed depression, religious and mystical feelings.

Liszt and Wittenstein moved to Rome, where he created works of religious content. Liszt's daughter was married to Wagner and organized festivals dedicated to him.

• Liszt repeatedly visited Russia, the music of which he was seriously interested in. He corresponded with outstanding Russian composers, published the best fragments of operas by Russian composers.
• Liszt believed that art is a tool for fighting evil and influencing people. According to musicologists, Liszt became the founder of master classes for musicians.
• In 1859, Emperor Franz Joseph knighted Liszt, giving him his full name - Franz Ritter von List.
• Franz Liszt had an unusually long hand, which allowed him to perform the most difficult passages.
• F. Liszt was named after the Hungarian National Academy of Music and Budapest International Airport.
• In his home, Liszt gave free master classes to musicians who came from different countries.

Franz Liszt is one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century. A world-recognized representative of the genre of romanticism in music, a virtuoso performer, teacher and founder of the Weimar School. The life story of the musician Franz Liszt began in the city of Doboryan, Hungary. The talented guy was born in the family of an official and a housewife. Father Adam List was in the service of Prince Esterhazy. Adam spent his childhood in the princely orchestra. As a teenager Liszt played the cello.

Anna-Maria Liszt was born in Krems an der Donau. At the age of 9, the woman became an orphan. This was the reason for moving to Vienna. The famous musician's parents were married in January 1811. Ferenc was born in October of the same year. The guy turned out to be the only child in the family.

Adam Liszt took care of the development of his son's musical talent, so he began his lessons from an early age. In the church Ferenc studied singing and playing the organ. The first performance of the young musician took place at the age of 8. The father forced the child to play the piano in the homes of noble nobles.

Creativity must develop. This was the opinion of Adam Liszt, the poet and his son went to Vienna, where the best music teachers lived. A piano was added to the organ, the basics of playing which Ferenc learned from Karl Czerny. The father of the talented musician managed to negotiate free lessons.

The great teacher was not delighted with the child, as the boy seemed physically weak. Thanks to cooperation with Czerny, List received a unique gift - versatility. Theoretical classes were conducted by Antonio Salieri, who was amazed every time by the talent of the young artist.

Like his father, Ferenc was in awe of the eminent maestro. Therefore, when, after the next concert at which Liszt performed, the musician approached and kissed the guy as a sign of respect, Ferenc was delighted. The young man remembered this event until the end of his days.

Not everything went so smoothly in Franz Liszt's biography. At the age of 12, the musician set out to conquer Paris. The young man wanted to enter the Paris Conservatory, but due to the fact that Ferenc was not French, he was refused. Father and son did not want to leave France. Ferenc gave concerts to make a living.

The music lessons continued. Liszt visited the teachers of the Paris Conservatory, among whom were Antonin Reich, Ferdinando Paer. These are difficult times for Ferenc. Adam List passed away when his son was 16 years old. This shock affected the musician's morale. For almost 3 years the younger List was depressed.

Music

Father Adam Liszt developed the composer's musical talent from childhood, so it is not surprising that Ferenc began to compose works at a young age, including etudes. When the teenager was 14 years old, Liszt set about creating the opera Don Sancho, or the Castle of Love. This work inspired many, so it was presented on the stage of the Grand Opera in 1825.

After the death of his father, the musician met the world one on one. It was at this time that the July Revolution began. Life was in full swing around, there were speeches about justice everywhere. The composer had the idea of ​​creating a "Revolutionary Symphony" in his head. Concert after concert, new friends appeared, among whom were Hector Berlioz and.

The violinist inspired Ferenc, so for a while the musician gave up concerts and returned to improving his technique. The transcription of Paganini's caprices belongs to this period of Liszt's life. In the musical world, this work is still recognized as brilliant and unique.

Ferenc understands that the vocation lies not only in the creation of music, but also in pedagogy. Until the end of his life, Liszt teaches young talents of art. The work of the composer was influenced by creativity.

In those years, there were rumors that Chopin was skeptical of Liszt's work. But after meeting in Paris, Frederic admitted that Ferenc is a virtuoso and a performing artist. The musician was friends with, Alfred de Musset.

In Switzerland, Franz Liszt began work on a collection of plays, Years of Wanderings. Creativity turned out to be not the only hobby of the musician. Liszt was invited to teach at the Geneva Conservatory. Concerts in Paris were not popular due to the fact that the inhabitants of the city were carried away by the music of Sigismund Thalberg.

Soon Ferenc organized a solo concert, excluding the participation of other musicians in the event. This decision influenced the way people thought about the performances. Now Italians and Europeans clearly distinguished between salon and concert events.

The dream of visiting Hungary did not leave the Liszt family alone for a long time, so the musician set off on a long journey. Ferenc was solemnly greeted in Hungary and Austria. Residents of these countries could hear live performance of a musician known throughout the world. After one of the concerts, Liszt's longtime competitor Sigismund Thalberg showed recognition.

Franz Liszt combined travels with concerts. For 6 years, the musician visited Russia, traveled around Europe, met with residents of Turkey, Portugal and Spain. Russian music at some point absorbed Ferenc. The result of this hobby was a collection of excerpts from Russian operas.

In 1865, the subject matter of Liszt's work changed. This is due to the fact that the man was tonsured an acolyte. From now on, Ferenc's work has passed into the category of sacred music. Later, the composer presented the oratorios "The Legend of St. Elizabeth", "Christ", psalms, the Hungarian coronation mass and a river.

After 10 years Liszt decides to move to Hungary. In Pest, the musician is invited to the post of President of the High School of Music. Among the students of Ferenc were Karl Tauzig, Emil von Sauer, Sophie Menter, Moritz Rosenthal. During this period, the musician will create Forgotten Waltzes and Rhapsodies for Piano, and will complete the cycle of Hungarian Historical Portraits.

Personal life

Shortly after his father's death, Franz Liszt met Countess Marie d'Agu. In those years, the girl treated modern art with unprecedented love. In addition, Marie wrote books, but published works under the pseudonym Daniel Stern. Georges Sand considered D'Agu to be an example to follow.

The romance between a married lady and a musician spun rapidly. And after a while, Marie left her spouse, and with him the familiar society. With Ferenc, the girl went to Switzerland. Young people never got married officially. In this peculiar marriage, three children were born: the daughters of Blandin and Cosima, the son of Daniel.

Blandine List later entered into an alliance with the French politician Émile Olivier. The girl died at the age of 27. There were two marriages on Cosima's account. The first time Liszt's daughter married pianist Hans Bülow, later left the man to. The musician's only son, Daniel, died suddenly at the age of 20 due to tuberculosis. This was a serious shock for my father.

The happiness of Marie and Ferenc ended after the musician met the wife of Nikolai Petrovich Wittgenstein, Karolina. This significant event took place in 1847. Love at first sight made family people commit a crime: to give up everything and run away.

Due to the religiosity of Carolina, the permission of the Pope and the Russian Emperor for a new marriage was required. Ferenc went to Europe for this. Years went by, but they could not get what they wanted. Then Wittgenstein and Liszt decided to go to Rome.

Death

In 1886 Franz Liszt took part in the festival. The weather was bad, so the musician caught a cold. The pianist did not receive proper treatment. This led to complications - pneumonia. Gradually, List lost physical strength, and the disease affected other organs, including the heart.

Soon Ferenc was found to have severe swelling of the legs, which prevented the musician from moving freely. List could not do without outside help. On July 19, 1886, the last concert of the great creator took place. After 12 years, Ferenc's relatives announced the death of the musician. Death overtook Liszt in the arms of a valet in the hotel.

Tomb of Franz Liszt

The author of "Hungarian Rhapsody" became the hero of the picture "Dreams of Love" after his death. The two-part feature film tells about the musician's journey to Russia. The main theme of the plot was the acquaintance with her beloved Caroline Wittgenstein. In the official photo for the film, Franz Liszt appears as a mysterious character with two sides of the personality - black and white.

Artworks

• 1835 - 1854 - "Years of Wanderings"
• 1838, 1851 - Sketches by Caprice by Paganini
• 1840 - 1847 - Hungarian Rhapsodies
• 1850 - Prometheus
• 1850 - 1854 - "Lament for Heroes"
• 1854 - Orpheus
• 1857 - 1862 - "The Legend of St. Elizabeth"
• 1858 - Hamlet
• 1870 - 1886 - "Hungarian Historical Portraits"
• 1881 - 1882 - "From the cradle to the grave"

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) - Hungarian musician, great virtuoso pianist of the nineteenth century, conductor and composer, teacher and publicist, is considered one of the most prominent representatives of romanticism in music. He founded the Weimar School of Music. He wrote 647 pieces of music, as well as works on literature - books about the musical heritage of the Hungarian gypsies and about the great composer Chopin.

Childhood

Ferenc was born on October 22, 1811 in the Hungarian city of Doboryan.
The mother of the future musician, Anna-Maria (maiden name Lagger), was born in Krems an der Donau. Her father was engaged in bakery production, he died very early, when his daughter was only 9 years old. The orphaned girl moved to Vienna, where she took a job as a maid. Closer to the age of 20, Anna-Maria went to her brother in the city of Mattersburg. In 1810, Adam List, who had come to hang the pope, also found himself in this city. The young people met, and already at the beginning of 1811 they became husband and wife.

The musician's dad, Georg Adam Liszt, was in the service of Prince Esterhazy as an overseer for the sheep herd. This work was considered responsible and honorable, because sheep flocks were the main wealth in the princely family. The Esterhazy family was very much in love with art. In the princely orchestra, which was directed by Joseph Haydn, Adam was also involved until the age of 14, he was a cellist. The father lived a short life, only 50 years, but he always retained a love for music, which was inherited by his only son Ferenc. Wherever the fate of Adam Liszt threw (in Eisenstadt or Riding), in his free hours from work he always participated in local orchestras, thanks to which he got acquainted with many visiting famous musicians, for example, Beethoven.

Franz Liszt's formation in the musical direction belongs exclusively to his father. From an early age he himself began to teach his child music.

Ferenc studied singing in the church choir, and the local organist gave the boy lessons on playing a musical instrument.

When Franz Liszt was 8 years old, his first public appearance took place. His father often organized concerts for him in noble noble houses, where the child played the piano, which caused positive emotions in the audience.

Music teaching

Seeing that his son's performances were a success, the father realized that he needed to seriously study music and decided to take the child to Vienna.

They left for Austria in 1821. There Ferencz undertook to teach the piano free of charge to the Austrian composer of Czech origin Karl Czerny. Music theory was also taught to him free of charge by Antonio Salieri.

Among the Viennese listeners, the concert performances of the young talent made a sensation. Once, after such a phenomenal concert, the boy was kissed by Beethoven himself, which Franz Liszt remembered later until the end of his life.

In 1823, his father took Ferencz to Paris with the aim of sending him to study at the conservatory. However, the boy was not accepted, because only French people were taken to this educational institution. Despite the fact that there was no money, the father decided to stay in Paris.

Paris

To earn money for living in France and food, Ferenc needed to constantly give concerts. So at such a young age, instead of studying, the boy had to take up professional activities.

The first musical compositions by Liszt belong to this period, to a greater extent they were studies for his concert repertoire. Already at the age of 14, he wrote the first opera "Don Sancho, or the Castle of Love", which in 1825 was even staged at the Grand Opera.

In 1827, the composer's father died. Liszt endured this loss extremely hard, for about three years he could not get out of a depressed state, the young man often began to show a mystical mood, which was very rarely observed before. In connection with these events, Ferenc disappeared from Parisian life, so much so that one of the newspapers even wrote an obituary on him.

He returned to life during the French uprising in 1830. Events around him were seething, everyone called for justice, Liszt even had the idea to write a Revolutionary Symphony. Ferenc began to actively give concerts, got along with other musicians (Berlioz and Paganini) and writers (Hugo, Georges Sand, Dumas, Musset), and again began to hone his performing perfection.

In 1835 Ferenc took up teaching and literary activities. His publications on Schumann and the social status of French artists were published.

Euro-trip

In 1835 Liszt left for Switzerland, where he began teaching at the Geneva Conservatory. He rarely went to Paris with concerts, but other virtuoso geniuses had already appeared there, and Ferenc's performances did not enjoy the same popularity.

In Geneva, the composer continued to write music (his plays appeared there, which were later included in the collection "Years of Wanderings") and literary and journalistic articles.

In 1837, Ferenc went to travel to Italy, he traveled to cities, wrote essays on local music, then sent them for publication in the magazines of Paris. Here his first solo performance took place, which took place without the participation of other musicians.

For ten years, Franz Liszt traveled with concerts to almost all European countries, visited his homeland in Hungary, from 1842 to 1848 he performed in Austria, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Turkey. This was the pinnacle of his concert and educational activities.

Weimar

In 1848, the musician finally decided to settle in one place and settled in the German city of Weimar.

Here he devoted himself entirely to composing, stopped performing, put in order numerous musical sketches. In Weimar, Ferenc finished many previously begun works - rhapsodies and piano concerts, etudes and romances, sonatas and symphonic poems.

He continued to write articles and essays, and took up a book about Chopin. Here in Weimar, he received students from all over the world.

But in this German town, not everyone understood Liszt's musical activities, he was extremely disappointed by this. To this was added a failed wedding with his beloved woman Carolina and the death of his son from his first marriage. Again Ferenc plunged into himself, mystical thoughts began to visit him more and more often.

last years of life

In the 60s of the nineteenth century, Liszt went to Rome, where he was tonsured a clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church, he performed a number of liturgical services as an acolyte. From now on, he became interested only in sacred music, this was reflected in his work, during this period he wrote:

• the oratorio "The Legend of St. Elizabeth";
• requiem;
• the oratorio "Christ";
• four psalms;
• Hungarian coronation mass.

In 1875, the Higher School of Music was created in Hungary, Liszt was elected president, and he again began to engage in teaching.

His middle daughter Kazima by that time was already the wife of the famous composer Wagner. When her husband died in 1883, Kazima began to organize the Bayreuth festivals in memory of him, where operas written by her husband were staged in full accordance with the composer's intention. She always invited her father to these events. In 1886, during a regular festival in Bayreuth, Ferenc caught a cold. Later, the cold progressed to pneumonia. The state of health was getting worse every day, pains in the heart appeared, the legs were swollen. The composer could no longer move without assistance.

On July 19, 1886, his last performance took place, less than two weeks later, on July 31, the musician died.

His name is given to the Hungarian National Academy of Music in Budapest and Hungary's main international airport.

His famous Hungarian Rhapsodies a hundred years later sounded in the world cinema - in the Oscar-winning series of the famous cartoons "Tom and Jerry" and "Bugs Bani", as well as in the musical Soviet comedy "Jolly Fellows".

Personal life

In the early 1930s, Georges Sand introduced Ferenc to her friend Marie d'Agu.

The woman adored modern art, tried herself in literature, wrote novels and published them under the name Daniel Stern. She loved the work of Georges Sand and was constantly in a state of romantic love. A love relationship began between Ferenc and Marie, in 1835 she left her husband and went with Liszt to Switzerland.

There they lived in hotels in Geneva, sometimes rented a house in some picturesque place. Ferenc and Marie had three children:

• in 1835, Blandin's daughter, she married the French politician Émile Olivier, died at the age of 27;
• in 1837, the daughter of Kazin, she was married to the German pianist Hans Bülow, in her second marriage, Richard Wagner became her husband, lived for 93 years;
• in 1839, the son Daniel, a young man showed very high hopes in music, unfortunately, they were not destined to come true, he died at the age of 20 from tuberculosis.

Soon after the birth of their son, Marie and Ferenc parted.

In 1847, during a concert at the Kiev University of St. Vladimir, Ferenc met with Princess Caroline Wittgenstein.

Her marriage to the prince was unsuccessful, the couple did not live together. Carolina invited Liszt to stay at the Voronintsy estate in Podolsk, from where a year later they left together for Europe. Carolina and Ferenc could not unite in a legal family, because her legal spouse did not give a divorce. The woman turned to the Pope and the Russian Emperor for help.

For 14 years they lived in a civil marriage in Weimar. The troubles for a divorce took so much time and effort that when it was finally formalized and it was possible to legalize her relationship with Liszt, the princess flatly refused to do it. She considered her sinful relationship with Liszt unworthy of legal marriage, from that moment only platonic love remained between them, which was expressed in constant correspondence.