Liszt: His Life and Music

Perhaps the greatest pianist who has ever lived, Liszt was one of the titanic musical figures of the Romantic age. Abandoning his spectacular career as a travelling virtuoso in his mid-thirties, this passionate lover and fond father dedicated himself instead to a life of composing, conducting, teaching and, increasingly, religious devotion, eventually taking minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church. This biography explores an enthralling life lived for long periods in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the composers native Hungary a kaleidoscope of cultural worlds whose folk music, literature and landscapes richly coloured Liszts own music.