HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY: The Life of Franz Liszt

Written with unusual insight, this is a biography of Liszt, a child prodigy who fulfilled his promise; a man of phenomenal energy in early life, a genius of a teacher, the finest pianist of his time, a composer of unusual scope, and a passionate lover of women. An only child, his first concert at ll was arranged by his father who set out to live a brilliant musical career through his son's talent. After draining the musical knowledge of Vienna, they went on to Paris where the Paris Conservatoire refused him admittance, but this disappointment was soon dissolved by his reception in the Paris salons. At 15, his pater-promoter died; at 17 he gave up the hated concert tours and settled down to teach. And then came the first of a long series of emotional upheavals over women and his meteoric rise is attended by a lifetime of love affairs---his ardor was undimmed even at 65. The biography is a brilliant portrait of an age and the lives of several artists color Liszt's own life- Wagner, Berlioz, de Musset, George Sand, Chopin, and others.