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The Influence of Ludwig van Beethoven on Franz Liszt

Raymond Mao

Music 89S

Professor Harry L. Davidson

November 14th, 2012

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Music 89S

The Influence of Ludwig van Beethoven on Franz Liszt

Raymond Mao

Throughout the history of music, there are few who can match the legacy and grandeur of

Ludwig van Beethoven. Some consider him the most influential composer in the history of

classical music, while others still agree that Ludwig van Beethoven’s lasting impact on classical

music cannot be matched by most. Ludwig van Beethoven left an impression on many of the

Romantic composers of the 19th century, as Beethoven was the greatest innovator in Romantic

music at that time. However, one composer in particular was greatly influenced by the life of one

of music’s greatest composer (Keiler 116).1

Franz Liszt was similar to Beethoven as a child, revered as a prodigy by all around him.

After only 22 months of playing the piano, a young 8 year old Liszt had already mastered

volumes of Mozart, Clementi, Bach, and Hummel.2 It was in his early childhood when Liszt’s

fondest memories of his hero occur. At the young age of 11 Liszt recalls playing for the old

master. Liszt’s teacher Czerny had taken the young boy to play for Beethoven in order to

advertise the child’s prodigal talent. After playing a piece by Ries and part of the Well-Tempered

Clavier by Bach, a young Liszt asks permission to play one of Beethoven’s own works. Liszt

1 Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).2 Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8.

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masterfully played Beethoven’s own C-Major concerto. After the performance, Beethoven stood

up and bestowed upon Liszt the Weihekuss; the kiss of consecration. 3

Many have questioned if this meeting between the two greats actually occurred, but this

small trivial question does not diminish the obvious impact Beethoven on Liszt’s life. An older

Liszt when asked about the event stated:

“This event in my life has remained my greatest pride-the palladium of my whole career

as an artist. I tell it but very seldom and only to good friends.”4

The relationship between Liszt and Beethoven meant more than Beethoven’s other

contemporaries, and it is clear that Beethoven had a lasting impact throughout of Liszt’s life.

Beethoven’s influence on Franz Liszt moves past Liszt’s early life into much of Liszt’s life.

Beethoven’s influence is seen through Liszt’s performance of many Beethoven piano sonatas,

and the compositional style of many of Liszt’s own piano pieces.5

Liszt was born into a musical family. His father, although an accountant for the Esterhazy

estates, was also a gifted musician with the piano and cello. At the young age of six, Liszt was

recorded to be able to replicate a Ries concerto that his father had played earlier that day. From

that day on Liszt’s father began piano lessons with the boy. Liszt showed signs of child prodigy,

as he was able to quickly learn and memorize volumes of piano pieces in a few years. His father

presented the boy in numerous local concerts, where his talents amazed local royalty and won

him sponsorship allowing his education abroad. It wasn’t long after that that Liszt began his

studies with Carl Czerny, a Vienna pianist and teacher. Most important of all is that this would

3 Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).4 Ibid, 126.5 Ibid.

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be Liszt’s first encounter with his hero Beethoven, as his teacher Carl Czerny was once a pupil of

the old master himself.6 Carl Czerny was the pupil of many great Classical music composers, but

the composer that marked his influence on Czerny was Beethoven. An older Czerny, much like

an older Franz Liszt, recalls the first day that he met Beethoven:

“I was about ten when Krumpholz introduced me to Beethoven. With what a mixture of

fear and elation I looked forward to the day on which I was to see the admired master!

Even today that moment stands out vividly in my memory.” 7

Czerny’s compositional style and teaching ability often mimicked Beethoven himself, so

much of Franz’s early learning can be said to be taught by Beethoven himself. 8

Czerny’s plan for Liszt was to groom him into a formidable keyboard player. By pushing

fundamentals above everything else, Czerny made sure that Liszt had a strong background in

playing technique before even attempting anything more difficult. Then, after setting his strong

background in technique, he began mastering the works of great composers such as Hummel. His

strong keyboard skills gave Liszt an extreme skill of sight reading, as he was able to read and

pay many complicated piano works without ever had laying eyes on them before. Under the only

14 months that Liszt studied with Czerny, his skills developed exponentially, and many would

call him a prodigy.9

6Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg87 Czerny, Carl, and Ernest Sanders. "Recollections from My Life." The Musical Quarterly. 42. no. 3 (1956): 302-317. http://www.jstor.org/stable/740427 (accessed October 24, 2012).

8Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg89Ibid.

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Liszt historian Allan Keiler provides a different explanation to Liszt’s early connection

with Beethoven. Allan describes the relationship with Beethoven in states, with the earliest stage

being his childhood in Hungary. Allan’s analysis of Liszt depends wholly on the fact that the

childhood stages of an artist determine much of the rest of the artist’s life, as that crucial

development period is instrumental in all people. In Allan’s analysis, a series of different stories

coming from varied Liszt biographers show the composer’s early obsession with Beethoven.

Liszt’s relationship with Beethoven at those early ages is similar to a modern day obsession with

a popular figure in celebrity or sports. One story holds that when asked what Liszt wanted to be

when he grew up, he pointed at a painting of Beethoven hanging on the wall.10 This story is not

unlike any childhood obsession with a hero, may it be Ludwig van Beethoven or Michael Jordan.

During this developmental period is when Liszt’s meeting with Beethoven was said to

have occurred. During the time, Beethoven was only a bit short of a legend. As Wan-Hsuan Wu

stated in his book comparing the two great composers, “There are more than one hundred

reminiscences of meetings with Beethoven extant up to this day.”11 So how can one believe that

such a chance encounter really occurred between a young Liszt and already deaf Beethoven?

The entire importance is not its actual factual existence, but the stories meaning to Liszt

himself. At the time when Liszt was supposedly introduced to Beethoven, the near deaf

composer was said to have developed a hatred for child prodigies, like Liszt himself. Liszt

himself did not look forward to the meeting with his hero, as again he feared Beethoven’s

disapproval. It was not Liszt’s desire to meet Beethoven, but his eager teacher Carl Czerny.

10Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).11Wu, Wan-Hsuan. Beethoven Through Liszt: Myth, Performance, Edition . Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, 2007. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3653/wud36782.pdf?sequence=2 (accessed November 14, 2012).

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Czerny being a student of Beethoven desired his old master to meet with his young prodigy, to

show him such amazing talent. At the end of the day, the fondness that an old Liszt tells this

story to a student of his own,12

“I first played a short piece by Ries. When I had finished, Beethoven asked me whether I

could play a Bach fugue. I chose the C-Minor Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier.

'And could you also transpose the fugue at once into another key?' Beethoven asked me.

Fortunately I was able to do so. After my closing chord I glanced up. The great master's

darkly glowing gaze lay piercingly upon me. Yet suddenly a gentle smile passed over his

gloomy features, and Beethoven came quite close to me, stooped down, put his hand on

my head, and stroked my hair several times. 'A devil of a fellow,' he whispered, 'a regular

young Turk!' Suddenly I felt quite brave. 'May I play something of yours now?' I boldly

asked. Beethoven smiled and nodded. I played the first movement of the C-Major

Concerto. When I had concluded Beethoven caught hold of me with both hands, kissed

me on the forehead, and said gently: 'Go! You are one of the fortunate ones! For you will

give joy and happiness to many other people! There is nothing better or finer!' Liszt told

the preceding in a tone of deepest emotion, with tears in his eyes, and a warm note of

happiness sounded in the simple tale. For a brief space he was silent, and then he said:

'This event in my life has remained my greatest pride the palladium of my whole career

as an artist.”13

12Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).

13Ibid

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shows the way that Beethoven had impacted his life. To be already a successful composer

himself and in many regards just as accomplished as Beethoven himself was, and still show such

great emotion when reminiscing about a story of Beethoven shows much about the relationship

between Beethoven and Liszt. It is not as much a story between two contemporaries, but the

admiration that Liszt had for Beethoven, who accomplished great things before Liszt was even

born. 14

15

16

14Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).

15Beethoven, Ludwig van. “Piano Sonata No. 15 Op.28” .Vienna: Bureau des Arts et d'Industrie, n.d. Plate 28.

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Liszt’s family then decided to move from Vienna to Paris in order to help foster the

development of young Liszt. The actual journey that they took mimicked Mozart’s travels, as

Adam Liszt still wished to advertise his son’s status as a virtuoso piano player. While Liszt

studied in Paris both he and his father made trips across the English Channel to showcase the

virtuoso’s talent in 1827, when Liszt was only 15 years old. During his second stay in London in

1827, Liszt showed his talent in composition when he wrote Scherzo in G-Minor. Although the

piece was never published during Liszt’s life time, it showcases some Beethovian ideas in his

composition. Liszt’s early understanding of harmony can only be attributed to his study of

Beethoven, as many of the harmonic counterpoints in this Scherzo echo Beethoven himself.

Notice that both Scherzo’s begin with a repetition of a theme played in different keys and

different octaves. The Scherzo taken from Beethoven (above) is from his Piano Sonata 15 Op.

28. Liszt took many of these compositional cues from Beethoven in writing one of his first piano

pieces.17

Upon returning form the trips abroad with his father, Franz Liszt’s father Adam fell ill

with the typhoid fever, and shortly after succumbed to the disease. The experience was one of

great trauma for Liszt, only 16 at the time. Liszt was placed in charge of the family, still living in

Paris, and sacrifices were made in his career to help accommodate for the tragedy of his father’s

death. Liszt was forced to sell his grand piano and to begin teaching piano to children of wealthy

aristocrats in Paris .18

16Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).17Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8 18Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8

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Many modern Liszt historians take a close look at this tender period of time in Liszt’s

life. Keiler takes a look at Adam Liszt’s relationship with his son, and the impact that his death

had on Liszt himself. Adam Liszt wasn’t a caring and loving father to Liszt; similar to that of

Beethoven’s father. Adam, being Liszt’s first music teacher and the equivalent to his “agent”,

constantly pushed Franz to do much greater then things than Adam had done. Like Beethoven,

Liszt was much more talented, and like Beethoven, Liszt’s father died early in Liszt’s life.19 It is

also shown that Adam Liszt often took advantage of his son’s talents financially. During their

initial move to Vienna, Adam Liszt was forced leave his job as a clerk for local royalty, and thus

much of the financial burden had been placed on Liszt at an early age.20 This again, is similar to

Beethoven, who often pushed Ludwig in piano and violin as his son’s primary teacher.21 During

his Vienna years it was completely possible that Franz Liszt viewed his father less than an actual

paternal figure, but just an overseer. It was also during these years that the Weihekuss

supposedly occurred as well. If one were to place these two facts together, it is obvious that it

was that during that moment Beethoven had become some sort of grandfather –like or even

father-like figure to Liszt. The absence of an amiable father figure in Liszt left a gaping hole to

be filled.22 Forwarding to the death of his father, Franz Liszt may have again mentally replaced

his father by the legendary composer Beethoven.

19Joseph Kerman, et al. "Beethoven, Ludwig van." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed November 14, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026pg1.

20Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg821Joseph Kerman, et al. "Beethoven, Ludwig van." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed November 14, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026pg1.22Keiler, Allan. "Liszt and Beethoven: The Creation of a Personal Myth." 19th-Century Music. 12. no. 2 (1988): 116-131. 10.2307/746736 (accessed October 24, 2012).

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Liszt gained more and more renown in the city of Paris. Parisian society in the early

1800’s centered greatly around attendance of fine art performances, like piano performances by

young virtuoso’s such as Franz Liszt. This made Paris the perfect background for the growth of a

piano legend, as Liszt was becoming. As Liszt was maturing and his status as a piano virtuoso

was cemented, he garnered the attention of many accomplished composers during that time that

often wrote pieces for the young player. Piano greats such as Chopin associated themselves with

Liszt, but grew apart from him as he didn’t appreciate the theatric nature of Liszt’s playing.23

Liszt’s piano playing was characterized by his over-theatric antics on the piano bench:

“You must see him, his hair in the wind, launch his fingers from one end of the piano to

the other...his fingers seem to elongate and withdraw as though on a spring and

sometimes even to leave his hands. You must see him raise his sublime eyes to the

ceiling as though looking for inspiration, then, bleakly, drop to the ground, his

physiognomy radiant and inspired like that of a martyr who revels in the joys of his

torture; that terrible look that he flashes sometimes on the listener, that exhilarates,

fascinates and terrifies…you must see his nostrils swell to let the air escape from his

chest in tumultuous waves like the nostrils of a warhorse flying on the plain.”24

and much of the Parisian society did not appreciate his style at all. It was during this time that

another pianist began to grow popular within Paris. Sigimund Thalberg, born only a year later

then Liszt, began touring Europe as a virtuoso piano player like Liszt. He had most recently

23Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8 24Wu, Wan-Hsuan. Beethoven Through Liszt: Myth, Performance, Edition . Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, 2007. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3653/wud36782.pdf?sequence=2 (accessed October 28, 2012).

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begun growing in fame, particularly in Paris during the late 1830’s. Thalberg had also moved to

Vienna at the age of 10, like Liszt had done with his family. Yet, the most interesting of all of the

coincidences is the style in which Thalberg approached the keyboard. His piano playing style

was in stark contrast to Liszt’s. Thalberg’s keyboard technique was perfect and style unique, but

he did so sitting almost immobile at the piano.25

So Liszt decided to partake in a “musical duel” with Thalberg to determine who’s piano

skills were greatest. For such a contest, Liszt chose a piece that had followed him throughout his

life and had made a deep impact on him even as an adult. This piece, of course, was a Beethoven

Piano Sonata, more specifically the Hammerklavier Sonata. This sonata was one of Beethoven’s

last piano sonatas, written during the period where Beethoven was completely deaf. It was

characterized by its extremely inventive style, and something that the Parisians may not have

necessarily enjoyed. Beethoven’s later works hadn’t struck Paris like his earlier works had, so

choosing such a piece was a bold move on Liszt’s part.26

Yet Liszt’s relationship with Hammerklavier cannot be summarized by just this one

performance of the song, although a daring choice that obviously showed that Liszt had a

connection with the piece. Liszt’s relationship with this particular Beethoven Sonata can date

back to his father. Adam Liszt also had a fascination with the piece:

“My childhood presumption went so far that I delved passionately into Beethoven's

'Grand Sonata for Hammerklavier,' which my father loved so much. I remember that this

foolishness brought a couple of vigorous slaps, which nevertheless hardly reformed me,

25Ibid26Ibid, 15.

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for secretly, during the frequent excursions of my father, I continued the dismemberment

of my favorite sonata.”27

Liszt considered the Hammerklavier by Beethoven to be one piece that was impossible to master.

Liszt regarded many of Beethoven’s late Piano Sonatas to be the greatest pieces of piano music

ever composed. The technical difficulty and overall raw emotion that the Hammerklavier

contained interested Liszt the most about the piece. Liszt’s obsession with the piece made it a go

to piece when he ever felt he needed to show his technical expertise on the piano. In one specific

instance in the house of Richard Wagner, Liszt playing was so impressive that it amazed Wagner

himself:

“A few of us were together at Wahnfried after dinner. Wagner, being tired, had left the

company, and Ferencz Liszt took the lead in a conversation which turned on Beethoven's

last sonatas. Liszt was very interesting on the subject. He spoke especially of the

famous Hammerklavier, and more particularly of the fine adagio in F Sharp minor which

it contains. In the midst of a sentence he stood up and exclaimed: - 'I will prove it to you!'

- We retired to the music-room, which at Wahnfried reached from the ground level, past

the first floor and up to the glass roof. On the first floor there is an open gallery, on which

the bedroom doors open, and from which a spiral staircase leads down to the ground

floor. In the middle of the hall stood the huge piano, at which Liszt sat down, and filled

our souls with the mysticism of Beethoven's last works.... Liszt seemed once more to

have surpassed himself, to have established an inexplicable, direct contact with the dead

genius whose interpretation for him was a religious task. When the last bars of the

27Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8

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mysterious work had died away, we stood silent and motionless. Suddenly, from the

gallery on the first floor, there came a tremendous uproar, and Richard Wagner in his

nightshirt came thundering, rather than running, down the stairs. He flung his arms

around Liszt's neck and, sobbing with emotion, thanks him in broken phrases for the

wonderful gift he had received.” 28

Liszt’s mastering of such a difficult piece such as Beethoven’s Hammerklavier proved that he

was the greatest pianist in the world. But, this did not satisfy Liszt in his strive to match the

legendary status of Beethoven. Beethoven of course was a master pianist as well, but is

remembered most from his legendary compositions. During Liszt’s concerts in Paris and

London, he had proven himself to be a piano virtuoso, but he was still yet recognized by his

compositions.29

After the duel Liszt had with Thalberg, he went on to redefine the term. In terms of his

performances and repertoire, Liszt was one of the first to play entire concerts form memory, and

possibly one of the first to coin the term recital as we know today, as a concert performed

without the aid of other musicians. During these next years it is estimated that Liszt played over

1000 recitals all over Europe, as Walker described it “from the Pyrenees to the Urals”. It is

assumed that all of his recitals were memorized, meaning that Liszt memorized volumes and

volumes of compositions from a wide array of composers during this period as well. Two years

after his duel with Thalberg, Liszt participated in a series of concerts in Vienna in memorial of

28Spencer, Stewart. Wagner Remebered. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2000.

29Wu, Wan-Hsuan. Beethoven Through Liszt: Myth, Performance, Edition . Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, 2007. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3653/wud36782.pdf?sequence=2 (accessed October 28, 2012).

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the cities greatest composer. For his first performance, Liszt pulled out a transcription of his own

of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony for the piano. The Hammerklavier Sonata again made a

reappearance in Liszt’s repertoire along with several other works of Beethoven done in his later

years that were still left relatively unknown. This action showed Liszt’s love of Beethoven

music, to be able to appreciate music that many others in Parisian and even Austrian society

never learned to appreciate. At the closing of the festival, Liszt was even named ‘Protector of

Beethoven’. Such a title only shows the level of dedication that Liszt had in mastering

Beethoven’s piano works and even transposing his orchestral works.30

However, Liszt was not only a performer for the Beethoven Memorial Concert, but also

participated actively in its running and funding. Learning that the fund for building of a statue of

the great composer had run dry, Liszt took it as an insult to both him and Beethoven himself.

Liszt placed his own funds up in order to fund the building of the statue, and as a result was

resulted a position on the committee that was to plan the events. He was asked to direct

Beethoven’s C Minor symphony, and also commissioned to compose a cantata for the event as

well. Many would see the Beethoven Cantata as Liszt’s first great accomplishment in

composition. This would be the first of two cantatas that Liszt would write in honor of

Beethoven, the second dedicated to the 100th year anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The cantata,

formally known as “Festival Cantata for the Inauguration of the Beethoven Monument in Bonn”,

was composed using excerpts from Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio Op.97. So there Beethoven

was, still inspiring the Franz Liszt as he begins his foray as a composer. One of Liszt’s first

compositional successes was a reimagining of a Beethoven piece, a “remix” if you


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will.31

32

After his activities in Bonn for the Beethoven Memorial Concerts and the unveiling of the

statue in Bonn, Liszt began to tour Europe again; this time around with a new fervor and desire

to dominate. “Lisztomania” as many have deemed it today swept across Europe after 1842,

characterized by the often wild receptions that Liszt would receive when he arrived at cities and

the crazy manner that his fans often acted at his concerts. Liszt was essentially a rock star, to

place it in modern terms. Actual accounts of fans swarming him at the end of concerts, trying to

cut locks of his hair, snatching broken piano strings and wearing them as bracelets, occurred


32Beethoven, Ludwig van. “Piano Sonata No. 14 Op.27 No.2” .Vienna: Gio. Cappi e Comp., n.d. Plate 879. (1802)

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during his tour. And throughout this period of great success, Beethoven piano sonatas still stood

central in his repertoire.33

Any Beethoven enthusiast knows that what makes playing Beethoven music so difficult

is attempting to interpret the music itself. Especially in later works, it is hard to find the correct

musical interpretation that Beethoven intended for his pieces, possibly because of his worsening

condition of his ears. Many described Beethoven’s later works as otherworldly, composed by a

man who did not hear like normal people did.34 Unsurprisingly, Liszt made it a personal mission

to interpret many of these later sonatas, such as the Hammerklavier, and also interpret some

other Beethoven piano sonatas. Other than the Hammerklavier sonata, Liszt’s other favorite

Beethoven piano sonata is the famous Moonlight Sonata, or Sonata No.14.35

Wan-Hsuan Wu’s analysis of Liszt’s interpretation of the Moonlight Sonata again shows

Liszt’s dedication to Beethoven’s original musical style and what he intended the Moonlight

Sonata to sound like. During the 19th century, due to several editing errors over a series of time;

many editions of the Moonlight Sonata had incorrect pedal markings and tempo markings. As a

result, much of the music listening society had gotten used to the Moonlight Sonata performed in

a certain way; the wrong way. Again, Liszt fought against the status quo and enjoyed playing the

33Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg834Joseph Kerman, et al. "Beethoven, Ludwig van." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed November 14, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026pg1.


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Moonlight Sonata at its intended tempo. In other terms, he was living up to his title of “Protector

of Beethoven”.36

Many of Liszt’s contemporaries were just as amazed as his fans were by Franz’s

masterful playing. Felix Mendelsohn in a letter sent to his mother after having a chance to meet

Franz Liszt and a chance to hear him play:

“Liszt, on the other hand, possesses a certain suppleness and differentiation in his

fingering, as well as a thoroughly musical feeling that cannot be equaled. In a word, I

have heard no performer whose musical perceptions extend to the very tips of his fingers

and emanate directly from them as he would have far surpassed all the rest, were not a

man’s thoughts in connection with all this the main things. And these, so far at least,

seem to have been denied him by nature, so that in this respect most of the great virtuosi

equal or even excel him. But that he, together with Thalberg, alone represents the highest

class of pianists of the present day, seems to me indisputable.” 37

show that even some of the greatest composers of that time were so shaken when they were able

to see Liszt play. According to Wu, “In the eyes of his contemporaries, Liszt was an unsurpassed

Beethoven performer.” (38). 38


37Alan Walker, et al. "Liszt, Franz." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 28, 2012,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/48265pg8 38Wu, Wan-Hsuan. Beethoven Through Liszt: Myth, Performance, Edition . Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, 2007. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3653/wud36782.pdf?sequence=2 (accessed October 28, 2012).

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A theme appeared among Romantic composers after the death of Beethoven. Many tried

so desperately to escape the shadow that the music legend had cast upon the entire era.

Beethoven was such an incredible figure whose musical compositions will be timeless, and many

Romantic composers found it impossible to compose without being compared to the giant. Yet,

Liszt did what others did not, he embraced the figure of Beethoven and tried not to surpass the

musical giant, but to better understand Beethoven’s work and as a result made him a better

player. Kieler states that the moment that the Weihekuss occurred, be it real or within Liszt’s

mind, Liszt would forever be tied with Beethoven, and his life would almost be dedicated to the

composer.39 In many ways Liszt’s life shows this trend, Beethoven can be seen influencing Liszt

at every major step, from his first composition in London 1827 to the Music Festival in Bonn and

his Cantata dedicated to Beethoven, and his building career as a virtuoso around Beethoven’s

piano sonatas. Yet, as we step away from these specific analyses, it is easy to see that Liszt has

created a name for himself. Yes, the Hammerklavier was an extremely difficult piece that Liszt

thought was impossible to master, but to this day piano virtuoso’s still struggle with Liszt

compositions such as La campanella and his Hungarian Rhapsodies. Liszt, through his embrace

of Beethoven, became the composer that we remember him as now. A Liszt without Beethoven

is a Liszt without the constant drive to dominate, a Liszt without Beethoven would not be the

piano master that we know him as today.


19

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Beethoven, Ludwig van. “Piano Sonata No. 15 Op.28” .Vienna: Bureau des Arts et d'Industrie,

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University of Texas at Austin, 2007.

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raymond mao - sites@duke · pdf file2 music 89s the influence of ludwig van beethoven on franz...

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