Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • SPRING 2016 • PAN PIPES 25 A WORLD OF MUSIC e most fascinating objects in the reconstructed drawing room are several of Liszt's pianos, along with two beautiful piano stools of cane interwoven with silk. My favorite object is a silver music stand with busts of three of Liszt's role models: Beethoven (for whom he wrote a cantata on the centenary of the composer's birth), Schubert, and von Weber. It was in this room that Liszt gave lessons to academy students. His first public performance was actually at age nine in Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). He, however, marked the start of his career at the 1823 performance in Vienna when Beethoven kissed him on the forehead aerward. Anyway, that's the lore with its wonderful imagery. Aer hearing Niccoló Paganini's virtuosity in a violin concert in 1832, Liszt was inspired to become equally skilled on the piano. No doubt he succeeded! As a concert pianist, a career that he chose to end at the surprisingly young age of 35, Liszt was indeed considered the greatest virtuoso of all time. He was the first pianist to perform the most difficult compositions by memory and coined the word "recital" to describe a pianist's performance as the star on stage all evening. Jan Ladisla Dussek (called "le beau visage" or "beautiful face") was the first to turn the piano sideways in a performance; Liszt followed suit, in his case giving a profile view complete with his long flowing hair. As a teacher, he was the first to hold a master class. Edited by Wilhelm Jerger and published in 2010 is a book based on the diary notes of Liszt's secretary and student: e Piano Master Classes of Franz Liszt, 1884-1886: Diary Notes of August Göllerich. As an author, he wrote, among other works, Life of Chopin, the first biography of his friend whom he had heard in a Paris concert in 1832. As a transcriber, he wrote transcriptions of Schubert's songs, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, and Concert Paraphrase on Verdi's Rigoletto. And he even suggested that Grieg (whose piano concerto he sightread in Rome) change the orchestration so that the trumpet would get the melody of the second theme in the first movement. As a conductor, he pioneered the role of conductor as performer in Weimar. Of course, the world knows him best as a composer because of his wonderful music. He wrote both religious and secular works, composing songs with piano accompaniment, pieces for solo piano, organ, orchestra, and piano concerti. He even created a new genre of music, the symphonic poem. Aer the immediate success of his solo piano Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 in C# Minor, he wrote two other arrangements—one for orchestra and another for piano duet. is piece has had a great impact on moviegoers everywhere. You can hear all three versions in feature cartoons with beloved characters, including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Roger Rabbit, Krazy Kat, Bugs Bunny, and Tom and Jerry. e Cat Concerto won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. Musical comedians Harpo Marx (who didn't read music) and Victor Borge (who read music very well) also used the piece in their routines. In 1903, Carrie L. Downing wrote Music is the Language Spoken by the Angels, unpublished poems about several famous classical composers. ese rhyming couplets about Franz Liszt capture the essence of this multi-hatted genius: Liszt as the king of pianists was known, For difficult playing he stands quite alone; Such wonderful feats did his fingers perform, He took every audience fairly by storm. He first played in public when nine years of age, Some nobleman heard him and said "We'll engage For this little fellow of teachers the best." And Liszt from that moment by fortune was blest. To older musicians he gave great delight By reading their notes, without trouble, at sight; And earned a large sum by his concerts one year, Which people from everywhere traveled to hear, He won as a teacher great credit and fame, To him for instruction young Rubenstein came; Carl Tausig, Von Buelow, and others less noted, Were also his pupils, and to him devoted. None had a more generous nature than Liszt, Who loved all the weak and the poor to assist; And though success crowned him, he never forgot e needy musician's less fortunate lot. He wrote many beautiful numbers, and then e Hungarian Rhapsodies flowed from his pen- At Beyreuth, where long he had taught and had played, He died, and near Wagner was reverently laid. At the museum, for a total of 3100 Hungarian forints (which is about $13), I purchased an adult admission, a permit to take photographs, and an audio guide. Also available at no charge are laminated pages of written descriptions to borrow and read during your visit. Jayne I. Hanlin is an initiate of Alpha Omicron and current member of the St. Louis Alumnae chapter. Mrs. Hanlin, the sister of famed pianist Malcolm Frager, is the co- author of Learning Latin Through Mythology (Cambridge University Press, 1991). FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Liszt Museum, visit lisztmuseum.hu/en/ Composing Desk with Three- octave Keyboard, Gift from Ludwig Bösendorfer (1876)

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