FRANK LISZT: Vol. II, The Weimar Years 1848--1861

by Alan Walker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 23, 1989

The second of three projected volumes (Vol. I, 1983) of Walker's massive biography of the great pianist/composer. Here, Liszt moves vocationally from his stupendous performing career to his composing phase, and geographically to Weimar, then the cultural center of Germany. Liszt's presence in Weimar, as Walker explains, became a magnet to other great performers--Bulow, Raff, Reubke, Bronsart, etc.--who became known as the ""New German School."" And in Weimar developed the great love of Liszt's life--Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein--who receives a deep portrait here, as Walker examines the stresses of her relationship with Liszt (the opposition of her family to a marriage that finally never took place; the petty harassments of the Protestant community to Liszt and Carolyne's open cohabitation) and offers a wealth of previously unpublished letters from Carolyne (e.g., a particularly biting letter to Liszt advising him to get rid of hanger-on Joachim Raft: ""What painter would content himself with handing over the drawing and leaving the colouring of it to his apprentice?""). Through his portrayal of Liszt's relationship with his three children by Marie D'Agoult, Walker demonstrates one of the composer's strongest character traits: the ability to detach his public from his private life. The author also emphasizes Weimar's importance as a fertile financial ground for Liszt's composing skills, providing support for performances. But in the end, misunderstood by his public, Liszt gradually became an isolated figure: ""The thirteen summers that he spent in the city were for him a period of slow martyrdom."" Despite an overwhelming admiration for its subject, certainly the definitive Liszt biography in-the-making.

Pub Date: June 23, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1989

Categories: NONFICTION