Born 1811 in Raiding, in what today is part of the Austrian federal state of the Burgenland, Franz Liszt was feted from his early youth as child prodigy on the piano. His father taught him to play from the age of six, and in 1822/23 he became student of Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri in Vienna.
In 1823 he moved with his family to Vienna where he wrote his first composition. Further studies took him to Paris; concert tours through France, Switzerland and Great Britain followed. During his time in Paris the young composer befriended leading figures of the romantic literary movement and became the favourite of society. He counted Berlioz and Chopin amongst his musical friends; and Paganini served as the role model for his own virtuosity.
1838 became the starting point for his matchless career as soloist. Liszt played on extended tours that took him all across Europe. Enthusiastic reception and jubilant audiences everywhere turned into a kind of frenzy – the so-called “Lisztomania”.
In February 1848 Liszt took up residence in Weimar. As Principal Court Conductor he championed the contemporary repertoire, especially works by Schumann, Berlioz and Wagner, who was at the time living in exile in Switzerland. Through his endeavours, Weimar became the hub of musical progress in Germany which resulted, from around 1859, in the label “New-German School”. The “Altenburg”, Liszt’s home in Weimar, became the centre of attraction for intellectuals, young artists and writers from all over Europe.
In 1861 Liszt gave up his position in Weimar and travelled to Rome. His time there was marked by personal calamities affecting his private life which led to his turn towards Catholicism and the creation of mostly sacred music. From 1869, Liszt spent some months of each year in Weimar, Pest and Rome. He taught piano masterclasses and became a seminal teacher to generations of young pianists of all nationalities, at the same time contributing to the ascent of a genuinely Hungarian music culture.
In his later years, Liszt gradually withdrew from the musical mainstream to which the increasing isolation and experimental tendencies of his late works bear witness: “Années de Pélerinage” (3 volumes), “The Bells of Strasbourg Cathedral”, “Historical Hungarian Portraits”, “Rhapsodies hongroises” No. 16-19, “From the Cradle to the Grave” and “Via crucis”.
He died on July 31st, 1886 in Bayreuth from the after-effects of pneumonia.