1811-1886. Hungarian pianist and composer. An
outstanding virtuoso of the piano, he was an
established concert artist by the age of 12.
His expressive, romantic, and frequently
chromatic works include piano music
(Transcendental Studies 1851), symphonies,
piano concertos, and organ music. Much of his
music is programmatic; he also originated the
symphonic poem. Liszt was taught by his
father, then by Carl Czerny (1791-1857). He
travelled widely in Europe, producing an
opera Don Sanche in Paris at the age of 14.
As musical director and conductor at Weimar
1848-59, he was a champion of the music of
Berlioz and Wagner. Retiring to Rome, he
turned again to his early love of religion,
and in 1865 became a secular priest (adopting
the title Abbe), but he continued to teach
and give concert tours. Many of his
compositions are lyrical, often technically
difficult, piano works, including the
Liebestraume and the Hungarian Rhapsodies,
based on folk music. He also wrote an opera
and a symphony; masses and oratorios; songs;
and piano arrangements of works by Beethoven,
Schubert, and Wagner among others. He died at
Bayreuth.