It was Liszt's habit to recommend to the public such works as he produced, not merely by performing them as admirably as possible but also by explanatory articles or essays, such as his two masterpieces of sympathetic criticism, the essays Lohengrin et Tannhduser a Weimar and Harold en Italie, which articles found many readers and proved very effective. They are now included together with articles on Schumann and Schubert, Chopin and others in his Gesammelte Schriften (6 vols., Leipzig).
The compositions belonging to the period of his residence at Weimar comprise two pianoforte concertos, in E flat and in A, the Todtentanz, the Concerto pathetique for two pianos, the solo sonata "An Robert Schumann," sundry Etudes, 15 Rhapsodies Hongroises, 12 orchestral Poemes symphoniques, Eine Faust Symphonie, and Eine Symphonie zu Dante's "Divina Commedia,'' the 13th Psalm for tenor solo, chorus and orchestra, the choruses to Herder's dramatic scenes "Prometheus," and the Missa solennis known as the "Graner Fest Messe." Liszt retired to Rome in 1861, and joined the Franciscan order in 1865. The princess Wittgenstein, it has been said, was deter mined to marry him, and as neither he nor her family wished their connection to take this form, Cardinal Hohenlohe quietly had him ordained. From 1869 onwards he—now the Abbe Liszt—divided his time between Rome and Weimar, where, during the summer months, he received pupils—gratis as formerly—and, from 1876 up to his death at Bayreuth on July 31, 1886, he also taught for several months every year at the Hungarian Conservatoire of Budapest.
Liszt's pianoforte technique was based on the teaching of Czerny, who brought up his pupil on Mozart, a little Bach and Beethoven, a good deal of Clementi and Hummel, and a good deal of his (Czerny's) own work. Classicism in the shape of solid, respectable Hummel on the one hand, and Carl Czerny, a trifle flippant, perhaps, and inclined to appeal to the gallery, on the other, these gave the musical parentage of young Liszt. Then appears the Parisian Incroyable and grand seigneur— "Monsieur Lits," as the Parisians called him. Later, we find him imitating Paganini and Chopin, and at the same time making a really passionate and deep study of Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, Berlioz. Thus gradually was formed the master of style—whose command of the instrument was supreme, and who played like an inspired poet.
Liszt's strange musical nature was long in maturing its fruits At the pianoforte his achievements culminated in the two books of studies, twice rewritten, and finally published in 1852 as Etudes d'execution transcendante, the Etudes de concert and the Paganini Studies; the two concertos and the Todtentanz, the sonata in B Minor, the Hungarian Rhapsodies and the fine transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies (the 9th for two pianofortes as well as solo), and of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, and the symphony, Harold en Italie.. In his orchestral pieces Liszt was the great
apostle of programme music (q.v.), and in that capacity may be said to have established his most conspicuous claim, apart from his achievements as a pianist, to a place in musical history.
Of his own orchestral works the Dante and Faust symphonies are generally considered the best. Of the twelve Poernes sym phoniques, Orphee is perhaps the most consistent from a purely musical point of view, while Les Preludes, Tasso and Mazeppa contain many happy pages.
In the choral numbers of the five masses, and in the oratorios Die Heilige Elisabeth and Christus, there are also fine movements, even if those works as a whole can never be regarded as com mensurate with the high aims and genuine religious fervour which went to their making. More truly inspired than most of these larger works are some of Liszt's songs.
Speaking generally of Liszt it may be said that the man was greater than his music. Distinguished by the rarest magnanimity of nature and generosity of soul, he laboured even more ener getically to advance the cause of others than his own ; most con spicuously of all, of course, in the case of Wagner, and if only for his labours in this regard, and as a fearless champion of all that was noblest in the art, alike ancient and modern, he deserves ever to be held in lasting honour and remembrance.
writings, Gesammelte Schriften, were col lected by Lina Ramann (6 vols., Leipzig, 1880-83). His correspondence appeared in 9 vols., 1894-1904, edit. by La Mara, and various addi tional volumes were published later, including Briefwechsel zwischen Wagner und Liszt, edit. E. Kloss (2 vols., 3rd ed., 1910). For bio graphical material see L. Ramann, Franz Liszt als Kiinstler und Mensch (3 vols., 1880-94; Eng. trans. by E. Cowdray, 2 vols., 1882) ; Cosima Wagner, Franz Liszt (1912) ; B. Schrader, Franz Liszt (1914) ; J. Kapp, Franz Liszt (1909, 1926) ; R. Wetz, Franz Liszt (1925) ; A. Hahm, Franz Liszt, Symphonische Dichtungen erldutert (1920) .