LISZT, FRANZ. — Musician, born at Raiding (Hungary) on 22 October 1811, died at Bayreuth on 31 July 1886. He displayed an exceptionally early aptitude for the piano, in the study of which he had Carlo Czerny as his teacher in Vienna; after moving to Paris in 1823, his career as a virtuoso began and rapidly developed, soon bringing him triumphant successes.
His residence in Weimar (1847–61) is especially marked by the production of his major symphonic works which, together with his piano and instrumental compositions, have achieved the widest renown: the two symphonies Faust and Dante, numerous symphonic poems (Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne from V. BALL, HUGO, Tasso, Les préludes from Lamartine, Orpheus, Prometheus, Mazeppa, etc.), the twelve Studies of Transcendental Execution, the collections entitled Années de pèlerinage, six studies after Paganini, two concertos for piano and orchestra, a sonata, rhapsodies, etc. His final creative period coincided with his residence in Rome (1861–70), during which most of his religious works were written; in 1866 L. received from Pius IX the dignity and title of abbot. Besides compositions of lesser importance, mention should be made of the Missa solemnis for the consecration of the Church of Gran (1855), the Hungarian Mass for the coronation (1866–67), the Missa choralis for four voices (1862), the Regium (1868), and the six Psalms. The two religious works of greatest significance are perhaps the two oratorios: The Legend of St. Elisabeth (1861–62) and Christus (1859–66), both for soloists, chorus, and orchestra (a third oratorio, Stanislaus (1872–83), is unfinished).
Naturally, even in the music of religious inspiration, L.’s personality manifests itself in its most characteristic aspects: the exuberance and grandeur of his temperament prevail throughout the various works, including those of a liturgical character. His interpretation of the sacred texts is strongly individualistic, but at certain moments it succeeds in achieving original and intense expressions, as, for example, in the Hosanna of the Hungarian Mass. The artist’s characteristic pathos is perceptible in the two oratorios, in which the descriptive element is extensively developed. In The Legend of St. Elisabeth, the dramatic character seemed so evident as to justify a stage production; but the structure of the oratorio is not unified. Christus appears even more complex: it is a work of broad proportions, in which Liszt’s personality reveals a deeper exploration of religious feeling, without relinquishing the fullest deployment of all the vocal and instrumental elements.