
The work opens by painting a vivid portrait of Franz Liszt’s astonishing childhood, a prodigy whose fingers seemed to tame the very strings of destiny. From his early years in Hungary to his meteoric rise on the European concert stage, the narrative captures the dazzling virtuosity that set him apart from his contemporaries. It also hints at the restless spirit that drove him to explore new musical horizons beyond sheer technical brilliance.
Beyond the concert hall, the author delves into Liszt’s broader passions—his fascination with poetry, his friendships with fellow artists, and his pioneering experiments that gave birth to the symphonic poem. The book balances admiration with insight, showing how his generosity and charismatic personality attracted a legion of students and admirers. Readers are left with a sense of the enduring impact of a man who reshaped both performance and composition in the nineteenth century.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (217K characters)
Series
Biographies of musicians
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: A. C. McClurg & Company, 1880,pubdate 1902.
Credits
D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) Updated: 2022-11-26.
Release date
2022-07-14
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1831–1885
A 19th-century German music scholar and writer, he is best remembered for helping preserve and publish important documents about composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. His work made music history feel vivid and personal for later generations.
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