The life of Franz Liszt was as daring and spectacular as his music. Famed throughout Europe as the greatest pianist of the nineteenth century, he was one of the most original and prophetic composers who ever lived. Beautiful in youth, glowering in age, his high-profile love affairs were the talk of the town wherever he went and his generosity to young musicians was legendary. In this account of his epic life, actors' readings combine with plentiful musical excerpts to paint a living portrait of a highly complex man.
The greatest surprise in this audio-biography of Franz Liszt is that, despite his reputation as a lion of the keyboard and one of the hugely popular superstars of his era, he was, in fact, a steady personality. As Jeremy Siepmann shows, for all Liszt's pyrotechnics on the keyboard, and itinerant life, he did not succumb uninhibitedly to the temptations of his environment. There existed a deeply reflective strain within him, which is why and how he eventually transformed his public persona from the fabulous virtuoso to Abbe Liszt - as can be experienced in the readings from his letters and memories by Neville Jason.
This novel biography of composer Franz Liszt combines a short history of his life, done by multiple voices in a theatrical style, with frequent and generous portions of his music. For example, Liszt's discovery of gypsy music in mid-nineteenth-century France is accompanied by a beautiful piece he composed then showing the inspiration. Parts of his most difficult to play piano compositions are included to underscore his musical intelligence. Talented author Jeremy Siepmann takes the lead role with most of the prose while other characters appear as scripted. The fidelity of both the music and voice on these CDs celebrates audio's superior ability to both entertain and educate. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
--AudioFile Magazine...
This novel biography of composer Franz Liszt combines a short history of his life, done by multiple voices in a theatrical style, with frequent and generous portions of his music. For example, Liszt's discovery of gypsy music in mid-19th-century France is accompanied by a beautiful piece he composed then showing the inspiration. The fidelity of both the music and voice celebrates audio's superior ability to entertain and educate.
--Denver Rocky Mountain News...
"A new series on Naxos also offers considerable illumination on music and music makers. 'Life and Works' [is an] ambitious collection, which consists of multidisc box sets devoted to Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt. Given all that recorded space, it's no surprise that the narration is richly detailed. Recitations of observations by contemporaries (Including words by the composer himself) are mixed in, as are musical examples. Nicely written companion books provide a look at the world of each composer, along with the printed text of the narration. These are thoroughly listenable collections. In humanizing their subjects, these discs offer more than mere biographical information--they bring us closer to the men behind the music."
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