![]() His indefatigable supervision of the court concerts and operatic performances brought them to a perfection that made the small provincial town of Weimar synonymous with the highest achievements in tonal art. His twelve years at Weimar (1849-61), where he assumed the proffered position of court conductor, were years of devoted, unselfish, and intensive activity. Having reached the pinnacle of success and fame as a pianist, he now concluded to abandon the career of a virtuoso, to devoted his time and energy to creative work and the public fostering of higher musical ideals. ![]() The princely contribution to the sufferers of the Danube inundation at Pesth (1837), and the completion of the Beethoven monument at Bonn (1845), are but two striking examples. No aspiring talent ever invoked his encouragement, no deserving charity ever appealed to his aid, in vain. His purse was open, his services at the disposal of every appeal of philanthropy. His remunerative concerts allowed him means to make generous provision for his mother and children. In all these intoxicating triumphs, he never lost his mental equipoise. Kings and national assemblies bestowed titles of nobility and decorations on him universities honoured him with academic degrees cities vied with one another in granting him their freedom audiences were thrilled as if by an hypnotic influence public demonstrations, torchlight processions, poetic greetings met him in all directions and made him the object of a hero-worship, that has seldom, if ever, fallen to the lot of any other artist. His concert tours throughout Europe evoked an unparalleled enthusiasm. The rupture of this liaison signalized the beginning of his dazzling career as a virtuoso, scaling higher altitudes as years progressed, until his reputation, like that of Paganini on the violin, was that of a pianist without peer or rival. The fruit of it was three children - a son who died early, Blandina, who became the wife of Emile Ollivier, Minister of Justice to Napoleon III, and Cosima, first the wife of Hans von Bülow, then of Richard Wagner, and now the owner of Villa Wahnfried, Bayreuth. The result of this environment led to the unfortunate alliance (1834-44) with the Countess d'Agoult (Daniel Stern). His intimacy with Meyerbeer and his friendship with Chopin, whose biographer he subsequently became, kept alive and fostered his interest in his art. fortunately the contravening influence of Lamennais averted what might have ended in spiritual shipwreck. The unhealthy atmosphere of his associations with Alphonse de Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Heinrich Heine, George Sand, and their coterie, could not fail to weaken his religious moorings. His Catholic sturdiness was temporarily shaken by the "Nouveau Christianisme" of Saint-Simon, to which, however, he never formally or even tacitly subscribed, and by the socialistic aberrations of Chevalier and Péreire. His charming personality, conversational brilliancy, and transcendent musical ability opened the world of fashion, wealth and intellect to him. His father's death (1827) made Liszt and his mother dependent on his own personal exertions, but the temporary hardship disappeared when he began his literary and teaching career. His brilliant concert tours in Switzerland and England enhanced an already established reputation. His one act opera, "Don Sanche", as well as his piano compositions, achieved a flattering success. His studies, however, under Reicha and Paer, were of a character that made the youthful prodigy one of the conspicuous figures of the French capital. His entry to the Paris Conservatory, where his father wished him to continue his studies, and which at the time was under Cherubini, proved unsuccessful on account of his not being a native of France. From Beethoven, who was present, down to the merest dilettante, everyone forthwith acknowledged his great genius. His first public appearance in Vienna (1 Jan., 1823) proved a noteworthy event in the annals of music. Taken to Vienna by his father, who devoted himself exclusively to the development of his talented child, he studied the piano for six years with Czerny, and theory and composition with Salieri and Randhartinger. His first public appearance at Oedenburg at the age of nine was so startling a character, that several Hungarian magnates who were present at once assumed the financial responsibilities of his further musical education. His musical precocity was early recognized by his parents, and his first teacher was his father, Adam Liszt, a musical amateur of rare culture. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99.Īdmittedly the greatest pianist in the annals of music, and a composer whose status in musical literature still forms a debatable question, b. Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download.
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