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P A N P I P E S Summer 2021 29 29 A FRANZ LISZT TRILOGY BY ALAN WALKER Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847, Vol. 1 (1983, revised 1987) Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years, 1848-1861, Vol. 2 (1989) Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1848-1861, Vol. 3 (1996) Published by Cornell University Press Reviewed by Jayne I. Hanlin A lan Walker spent a quarter of a century writing his definitive trilogy about Franz Liszt; before then many previous biographies had perpetuated inaccuracies about him. The author, a meticulous researcher and master writer (who by the way, first penned each word in longhand) majestically brings the truth to light. After analyzing history from his fair-minded and logical perspective, he inserts important omissions and corrects false allegations from former unquestioned accounts to reach convincing conclusions. The footnotes — at times voluminous — brilliantly amplify each book. The itemized sources Walker consulted fill more than ten pages in each volume. Therefore it is obvious that he examined an incredibly vast amount of material (including relevant letters, personal diaries, books, memoirs, newspaper articles, and other documents) — and in multiple languages, no less. These primary sources, some accessed for the first time, were located in archives and libraries in Europe, the United States, and his native Great Britain. His investigations are always thorough, so he can fully describe the minutiae and determinants in Liszt's life and career. As a bonus, his biography acquaints the reader with a number of hitherto unpublished items deserving attention. Throughout the 1704 pages in the set, he captures the essence of this honest and religious man who was generous with his time and money — even to a fault. Once Clara Schumann admired the expensive jeweled brooch on a chain around his neck, and he gave it to her. She was one of his several other musician friends who later treated him very unkindly. Nevertheless, Liszt maintained his ability to distinguish between their genius and personality. When Liszt was only a youngster, he began studying with Carl Czerny (1791-1857) in Vienna almost daily — and without charge. One instructional focus was sight-reading, and Liszt ultimately became a sight-reader bar none — able to play the barely legible manuscript of Mendelssohn's piano concerto, an untidy Brahms manuscript, the score of Glinka's Russian and Ludmilla, and even Mottl's new songs with the music turned upside down. The prodigy Liszt gave his first concert when he was only nine. During his career and later life, he traveled extensively — sometimes as much as 4000 miles per year — usually in third-class rail compartments. In Russia, he once traveled by dogsled. Liszt's concert career, accompanied by Lisztomania, was at its height when he turned 35. Nevertheless, this pianist, possibly the most phenomenal one ever, decided to stop concertizing. The format of his solo recitals — memorized pieces performed on an open-lid piano with the keyboard at right angles to the stage, the open lid reflecting the sound across the auditorium — is legendary and remains to this day. Liszt's memory was unparalleled, though he never practiced after he stopped concertizing. Imagine his ability to play variations learned forty years earlier; even Moscheles who wrote these was astonished. As a composer, Liszt did not enjoy the same adulation by the public or all of the critics. His compositions were often controversial. He included helpful notes to conductors in his scores. Particularly absorbing throughout each text are examples of Walker's own brilliant musical analysis of both obscure works and well-known pieces, such as the 30-minute long Piano Sonata in B Minor. Not all of his compositions have survived. Happily, however, First Elegy has! Previously unknown to me as a cellist, it is now part of my repertoire. Besides writing his own compositions — symphonic, vocal, piano, and instrumental — this consummate composer wrote piano transcriptions. The author makes a convincing case for their incomparable quality, especially Beethoven's symphonies, and challenged me to listen to these unfamiliar works and decide for myself. I agree they are quite extraordinary, and this shatters my former narrow view of this musical form. How Liszt achieves this effect on the keyboard with only ten fingers is mind- boggling; also remarkable is that one time after injuring a finger, Liszt was able to perform with only nine digits. As a conductor, some of the selections he introduced and championed for other composers were not popular with audiences. Incidentally, he didn't hesitate stopping a performance, if necessary. He thought of himself as a helmsman — not an oarsman. His conducting by memory as well as his facial expressions and hand movements on the podium influenced future prominent maestros. The first to offer master classes, Liszt was an inspiring and magical teacher, never charging his pupils whom he called "friends" and "colleagues." One time Amy Fay, one of these, noted his unflappability when he hit a rare wrong note (or "unwanted guest"). Walker includes her recollection from that occasion in Weimar: "He instantly went meandering down the piano in harmony with the false note he REVIEWS

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