Franz Liszt

During his younger days, in 1827 to be precise, when Franz Liszt was making waves for his abilities as a musician, he went on a trip to Boulogne with his father for a treatment. Unfortunately during this trip, his father Adam passed away, which deeply depressed the talented youngster.

He returned to Paris, where his mother was residing after the unexpected demise of his father. Several days of hardship followed and Liszt coached aspirants to play the piano, to make ends meet.

In 1828, the composer was smitten by one of his students and fell madly in love with her. The girl’s father didn’t approve of the relationship, leading to the musician’s depression and ill health. So pathetic was his state that a newspaper even mentioned him in the ‘obituary’ section and most people who knew him thought it was the end of the talented musician.

Franz Liszt was born on October 22, 1811 to Adam and Anna Liszt at a village named Doborjan, situated in Hungary. His father Adam was a musician who played several instruments such as the guitar, cello, violin and piano. Adam’s talent was even known to some of the world’s greatest musicians like Beethoven, Haydn and Hummel.

Franz learnt his first lessons in piano from his talented father. Unlike most kids, the young lad started composing music at the tender age of eight and even began performing at concerts when he was 9.

Franz Liszt later on went on to learn lessons in music from renowned composers Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri.

He moved to Paris in 1823 and even tried performing at the Paris Conservatoire the same year, but was denied permission for not being a French national. During this time, he also happened to meet young musicians Ferdinano Paer and Michael. The interaction with both these gentlemen gave Franz a much needed exposure to the world of music.

Franz Liszt’s talent made the right noises in England soon after, when he performed at the famous Windsor Castle for King George IV. During the same period, his epic composition ‘New Grand Overture’ was performed at Manchester.

After his father’s death in 1826, Franz Joseph Liszt worked as a piano teacher and took a sort of sabbatical from music for a while. For quite some time, Liszt spent time reading about the life and achievements of several great men, like acclaimed writer Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine for instance.

He also happened to meet the French composer Hector Berlioz at this time and was influenced by Berlioz to a large great extent.

Franz Liszt attended a concert in 1832, which was more of a fundraiser for charity. The highlight of this concert was that the legendary musician Niccolo Paganini was to perform.

Franz was blown away by Paganini’s skills to such an extent that he decided he’s going to master the piano the way Paganini established his prowess in playing the violin.

The decade 1839-49 is believed to be the best time of Franz Liszt’s illustrious career as a musician. Apparently, he performed in public approximately a thousand times during this decade. His masterpiece, ‘Three Concert Études’ was also written in the same period.