Reflections on Liszt

by Alan Walker

Overview

In a series of lively essays that tell us much not only about the phenomenon that was Franz Liszt but also about the musical and cultural life of nineteenth-century Europe, Alan Walker muses on aspects of Liszt's life and work that he was unable to explore in his acclaimed three-volume biography of the great composer and pianist. Topics include Liszt's contributions to the Lied, the lifelong impact of his encounter with Beethoven, his influence on students who became famous in their own right, his accomplishments in transcribing and editing the works of other composers, and his innovative piano technique. One chapter is devoted to the Sonata in B Minor, perhaps Liszt's single most celebrated composition.

Walker draws heavily on Liszt's astonishingly large personal correspondence with other composers, critics, pianists, and prominent public figures. All the essays reveal Walker's broad and deep knowledge of Liszt and Romantic music generally and, in some cases, his impatience with contemporary performance practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501717024
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	07/07/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alan Walker is Professor Emeritus of Music at McMaster University, Canada, and author of numerous books, including The Death of Franz Liszt Based on the Unpublished Diary of His Pupil Lina Schmalhausen; Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years, 1811–1847 (volume 1); The Weimar Years, 1848–1861 (volume 2); and The Final Years, 1861–1886 (volume 3), all from Cornell, and Hans Von Bülow: A Life and Times. He has been awarded the Music Teachers National Association 2010 Achievement Award, the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize, and the medal Pro Cultura Hungarica, presented by the President of Hungary.

Table of Contents

Prologue

1. Beethoven's Weihekuss Revisited
2. Liszt and the Beethoven Symphonies
3. Liszt and the Schubert Song Transcriptions
4. Schumann, Liszt, and the C Major Fantasie, op. 17: A Study in Declining Relationships
5. Liszt and His Pupils: Three Character Sketches
Carl Tausig: A Polish Wunderkind — Hans von Bülow: Heir and Successor — Walter Bache: An English Disciple of Liszt
6. Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor
7. Liszt and the Lied
8. Liszt as Editor
9. Liszt’s Technical Studies: Some Thoughts and Afterthoughts
10. Liszt the Writer: On Music and Musicians

Epilogue: An Open Letter to Franz Liszt
Sources
Index

Editorial Reviews

Walker is unashamedly a Lisztian, of course, but his advocacy is never fanatical. Rather, it is mantled in terse, accomplished prose, supported by faultless research, and buttressed by copious musical examples and musicological argument. In this indispensable book, Walker has strengthened his case for a reevaluation of the composer's accomplishments with care, detail, and—the word is not too strong—virtuosity.

Times Literary Supplement - Conor Farrington

No one knows more about Franz Liszt than Alan Walker.

Times Literary Supplement - Malcolm Bowie

The collection of essays is a sort of appendix to Alan Walker's three-volume biography of Liszt. That was not a study of the music, though it commented selectively on the music as part of the composer's life, but it was—is—one of the most readable and engrossing biographies of any subject ever written.

BBC Music Magazine - Adrian Jack

No one knows more about Franz Liszt than Alan Walker.

--Malcolm Bowie "Times Literary Supplement"

The collection of essays is a sort of appendix to Alan Walker's three-volume biography of Liszt. That was not a study of the music, though it commented selectively on the music as part of the composer's life, but it was--is--one of the most readable and engrossing biographies of any subject ever written.

--Adrian Jack "BBC Music Magazine"

Walker is unashamedly a Lisztian, of course, but his advocacy is never fanatical. Rather, it is mantled in terse, accomplished prose, supported by faultless research, and buttressed by copious musical examples and musicological argument. In this indispensable book, Walker has strengthened his case for a reevaluation of the composer's accomplishments with care, detail, and--the word is not too strong--virtuosity.

--Conor Farrington "Times Literary Supplement"

From the Publisher