Reflections on LisztIn a series of lively essays that tell us much not only about the phenomenon that was Franz Liszt but also about the musical and cultural life of nineteenth-century Europe, Alan Walker muses on aspects of Liszt's life and work that he was unable to explore in his acclaimed three-volume biography of the great composer and pianist. Topics include Liszt's contributions to the Lied, the lifelong impact of his encounter with Beethoven, his influence on students who became famous in their own right, his accomplishments in transcribing and editing the works of other composers, and his innovative piano technique. One chapter is devoted to the Sonata in B Minor, perhaps Liszt's single most celebrated composition. Walker draws heavily on Liszt's astonishingly large personal correspondence with other composers, critics, pianists, and prominent public figures. All the essays reveal Walker's broad and deep knowledge of Liszt and Romantic music generally and, in some cases, his impatience with contemporary performance practice. |
From inside the book
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... appeared in the Conversation Books, written in Schindler's hand. Beethoven's replies were spoken, of course; but by reading between the lines we can infer that his earlier reception of the young Liszt had been less than friendly ...
... appeared in print in Joseph d'Ortigue's early biography of Liszt (1835)9 and had acquired some colorful embellishments along the way. Schilling (1837) even had Beethoven mounting the plat-form, grasping the boy's hand, and proclaiming ...
... appeared nearly forty years earlier—as poetry. Liszt had just stepped down from his post as Kapellmeister to the Grand Duke of Weimar, and on December 17, 1858 (Beethoven's birthday), he had conducted an all-Beethoven concert to mark ...
... appearance in 1941 (Georg Schunemann, Beethovens Konversationshefte, Berlin, 1941–43). A complete edition is still in progress ... appeared in CLW, vol. 4, pp. 249–51. 18. FBLM. 19. NL. 20. TBL. 21. See LBW. 22. LBLCA, p. 116. 23. It was ...
... appeared even earlier;3 and what may well have been the first attempt to compress Beethoven's orchestral ideas into ten fingers was made by Carl Czerny, Beethoven's pupil and Liszt's own teacher, and had appeared between 1827 and 1829 ...
Contents
Liszt and the Schubert Song Transcriptions | |
A Study in Declining | |
Three Character Sketches | |
Liszts Sonata in B Minor | |
Liszt and the Lied | |
Liszt as Editor | |
Some Thoughts and Afterthoughts | |
On Music and Musicians | |
An Open Letter to Franz Liszt | |
Sources | |