Liszt symphonic poems

Franz Liszt ()

(bornRaiding, 22 October ; died Bayreuth, 31 July ).

He was taught the piano by his father and then Czerny (Vienna, ),establishing himself as a remarkable concert artistby the age of In Paris he studied theory and composition withReicha and Paer; he wrote an opera and bravura piano pieces and undertooktours in France, Switzerland and England before ill-health and religiousdoubt made him reassess his career.

Franz liszt composition list Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Yuki Kajiura. Symphonic Dances.

Intellectual growth came through literature,and the urge to create through hearing opera and especially Paganini,whosespectacular effects Liszt eagerly transferred to the piano in originalworks and operatic fantasias. Meanwhile he gave lessons and beganhis stormy relationship () with the (married) Countess Marie d' lived in Switzerland and Italy and had three children.

He gave concerts in Paris, maintaining his legendary reputation, andpublished some essays, but was active chiefly as a composer ("Annees depèlerinage").

To help raise funds for the Bonn Beethovenmonument, he resumed the life of a travelling virtuoso (); he wasadulated everywhere, from Ireland to Turkey, Portugal to Russia. In he took up a full-time conducting post at the Weimar court,where, living with the Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, he wrote orrevised most of the major works for which he is known, conducted new operasby Wagner, Berliozand Verdi and, as the teacher of Hans von Bülowand others in the German avant-garde,became the figurehead of the 'New German school'.

Richard wagner Symphony of Psalms. In he took minor Roman Catholic church orders, though he never became a priest. Symphyla Symphylans. Dennoch wohnt ihr eine programmatische Idee inne.

In he lived mainly in Rome, writing religious works (he took minororders in ); from he journeyed regularly between Rome,Weimar and Budapest. He remained active as a teacher and performer to theend of his life.

Liszt's personality appears contradictory in its combination of romanticabstraction and otherworldliness with a cynical diabolism and elegant,worldly manners.

But though he had a restless intellect,he also was ceaselessly creative, seeking the new in music. He helpedothers generously, as conductor, arranger, pianistor writer, and took artistic and personal risks in doing so. Thegreatest pianist of his time, he composed some ofthe most difficult piano music ever written (e.g.

the "TranscendentalStudies") and had an extraordinarily broad repertory, from Scarlattionwards; he invented the modern piano recital.

Two formal traits give Liszt's compositions a personal stamp: experimentwith large-scale structures (extending traditional sonata form, unifyingmulti-movement works), and thematic transformation, or subjecting a singleshort idea to changes of mode, rhythm, metre, tempo or accompaniment toform the thematic basis of an entire work (as in "Lespréludes", the "Faust-Symphonie").

His 'transcendental'piano technique was similarly imaginative, springing from a desireto make the piano sound like an orchestra or as rich in scope as harmony he ventured well beyond the use of augmented and diminishedchords and the whole-tone scale; the late piano and choral works especiallycontain tonal dashes arising from independent contrapuntalstrands, chords built from 4ths or 5ths, and a strikingly advanced chromaticism.

Piano works naturally make up the greater part of Liszt's output: theyrange from the brilliant early studies and lyric nature pieces of the firstset of "Annees de pèlerinage" to the finely dramatic and logicalBMinor Sonata, a masterpiece of 19th-century piano literature.

Sinfonische dichtung franz liszt biographies Sympathy Cards. Dennoch wohnt ihr eine programmatische Idee inne. In Weimar in the s, Liszt served as Kapellmeister, becoming a tireless advocate for the works of other composers. After his departure from Rome in , Liszt returned to Weimar, where he spent the rest of his life.

Thepiano works from the s onwards are more austere and withdrawn, someof them impressionistic, even gloomy ("Anneés", third set).Not all the piano music is free of bombast but among the arrangements,the symphonic transcriptions (notably of Berlioz,Beethovenand Schubert) are often faithful and ingenious,the operatic fantasias (on "Norma" and "Ernani", for example) more thanmere salon pieces.

Liszt invented the term 'sinfonische Dichtung'('symphonic poem')for orchestral works that did not obey traditional forms strictly and werebased generally on a literary or pictorial idea.

Whether first conceivedas overtures (Les préludes) or as works for other media (Mazeppa),these pieces all emphasize musical construction muchmore than scene-painting or story-telling. The three-movement "Faust Symphonie"too, with its vivid character studies of Faust, Gretchen and Mephistopheles,relies on technical artifice (especially thematic transformation) morethan musical narrative to convey its message; it is often consideredLiszt's supreme masterpiece.

Although he failed in his aim to revolutionizeliturgical music, Liszt did create in his psalm settings, "Missa solemnis"and the oratorio "Christus"some intensely dramatic and moving choral music, successful in his lifetimeand well suited to concert performance.

Liszt made numerous contributions to musical literature as a critic,as a commentator on the current musical scene, and as a champion of the"modern" style of his day.  He wrote a series of articles, "Zur Stellungdes Künstlers" (On the Position of Artists, ), in which he discussedthe social consciousness of composers and performers.  He wrote onchurch music, calling for a return to the function of music as a spiritualforce.