L is for Liszt

 

              I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, and my theme this year is classical music. Check out the list of other participants by clicking here! L is for Liszt. Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer who lived from 1811 to 1886. Today’s featured video is Arthur Rubinstein’s interpretation of Liszt’s “La Campanella” from the Grandes Études de Paganini. The pictures in this video are of Arthur Rubinstein.

Video link: https://youtu.be/hQULyGMhhWs

 

   ·   Franz Liszt was not only a composer, he was also a virtuoso on the piano, a conductor, a piano teacher, an author, and a member of the Franciscan Third Order Secular.
 

   ·   Liszt wrote many original pieces, but he also transcribed the work of other composers to piano. He took many creative liberties with these transcriptions and some were even considered more inventive than the originals.
 

   ·   Liszt was inspired by Niccolò Paganini to become as great a virtuoso on the piano as Paganini was on the violin. The Grandes Études de Paganini are based off of some of Paganini’s compositions for violin.
 

   ·   Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies included 19 piano pieces, but the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is by far the most popular. Excerpts from that piece can be found in numerous cartoons, including Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, remakes such as "Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness)" from Tran-Siberian Orchestra, TV shows, movies, and commercials.
 



"Liszt Monkey"

·    Even into his old age, Liszt continued to stay busy. He balanced living in Paris with teaching piano master classes in Weimer and Budapest. He called it his threefold existence.

 

 

   ·   He has a monkey named after him. The cotton-top tamarin is often called the Lisztaffe in German or “Liszt Monkey” because of its similar hairstyle to Franz Liszt.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Liszt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Rhapsody_No._2

For this challenge, I’m keeping a playlist of the videos I’m using plus some extras for anyone who wants to hear more. I will update with the latest letter each day. Today I added a funny video of Victor Borge playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
 

Do you remember hearing the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (or at least part of it) before? How many miles do you think it was estimated that Franz Liszt traveled per year during his threefold existence? Answer tomorrow.