Portrait of Liszt: By Himself and His Contemporaries - Tapa dura

"No volume in English--or any other language, for that matter--provides more eyewitness information about Liszt's activities and character....A highly readable account of the Master's public and private lives."--Notes "Offers an absorbing account of one of the 19th century's most fascinating lives."--The Instrumentalist "A kaleidoscope of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, many of which are appearing in traslation for the first time. In strict chronological order, with the year printed at the top of each page, this is an invaluable reference tool as well as a beautifully edited tour of almost everything Pnteresting that was being said about Liszt."--The California Music Teacher "An extraordinary book....A must for devotees of the Romantic composer....It is fascinating reading and excellent source material."--Classical "This volume deserves only congratulations, for its choice of material, and the vitality of the portrait that emerges."--Musical Times "No volume in English--or any other language, for that matter--provides more eyewitness information about Liszt's activities and character....A highly readable account of the Master's public and private lives."--Notes "Offers an absorbing account of one of the 19th century's most fascinating lives."--The Instrumentalist "A kaleidoscope of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, many of which are appearing in traslation for the first time. In strict chronological order, with the year printed at the top of each page, this is an invaluable reference tool as well as a beautifully edited tour of almost everything Pnteresting that was being said about Liszt."--The California Music Teacher "An extraordinary book....A must for devotees of the Romantic composer....It is fascinating reading and excellent source material."--Classical "This volume deserves only congratulations, for its choice of material, and the vitality of the portrait that emerges."--Musical Times "No volume in English--or any other language, for that matter--provides more eyewitness information about Liszt's activities and character....A highly readable account of the Master's public and private lives."--Notes "Offers an absorbing account of one of the 19th century's most fascinating lives."--The Instrumentalist "A kaleidoscope of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, many of which are appearing in traslation for the first time. In strict chronological order, with the year printed at the top of each page, this is an invaluable reference tool as well as a beautifully edited tour of almost everything Pnteresting that was being said about Liszt."--The California Music Teacher "An extraordinary book....A must for devotees of the Romantic composer....It is fascinating reading and excellent source material."--Classical "This volume deserves only congratulations, for its choice of material, and the vitality of the portrait that emerges."--Musical Times "No volume in English--or any other language, for that matter--provides more eyewitness information about Liszt's activities and character....A highly readable account of the Master's public and private lives."--Notes "Offers an absorbing account of one of the 19th century's most fascinating lives."--The Instrumentalist "A kaleidoscope of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, many of which are appearing in traslation for the first time. In strict chronological order, with the year printed at the top of each page, this is an invaluable reference tool as well as a beautifully edited tour of almost everything Pnteresting that was being said about Liszt."--The California Music Teacher "An extraordinary book....A must for devotees of the Romantic composer....It is fascinating reading and excellent source material."--Classical "This volume deserves only congratulations, for its choice of material, and the vitality of the portrait that emerges."--Musical Times

Franz Liszt has been described by one biographer as `one of the most wonderful human beings that ever lived, and one of the greatest and most original artists of the nineteenth century'. Born in Hungary in 1811, he rapidly achieved fame throughout Europe as a fabulously gifted pianist, and in the course of his long life - he died in 1886 - he visited almost every country in the continent, including three tours of the British Isles. The adulation bestowed upon him was so extraordinary that it gave rise to the term `Lisztomania'. In Portrait of Liszt Adrian Williams has put together a kaleidoscope of eyewitness accounts and anecdotes - many that are likely to be new even to Liszt specialists - extracted from the diaries, letters, and reminiscences of those who knew Liszt as man, pianist, and teacher. These appear side by side with newspaper reviews and passages from Liszt's own letters and writings. The linking narrative provides information about his activities, movements, and concerts, and gives more detail than any previous publication of Liszt's visits to England, Scotland, and Ireland. There emerges a uniquely comprehensive look at one of the most prodigiously gifted of all musicians as well as an absorbing view of European musical and artistic life in the nineteenth century. This book is intended for musicologists and students of ninteenth-century music, musicians, and music lovers.