MEPHISTO WALTZ
By
A new biography for teen-agers of the Hungarian pianist composer whose unrivalled virtuosity on the keyboard ""modernized"" the pianoforte and paved the way for concert artists of our own time. Liszt's life is traced from early years in a forgotten corner of the great Esterhazy estates through his dazzling success in the concert halls. Though concert triumphs brought him the wealth and luxury he always desired, it constantly interfered with his work. His uneven, often unhappy personal life, his liaison with various women after his real love was forced into marriage with a man of her own class, his illegitimate children -- are all treated with considerable frankness. Liszt's compositions are discussed and evaluated, but excessive musical technology is avoided. Another in the Holt Musical Biography Series