Franz Liszt

Introduction & Top Questions
Youth and early training
Years with Marie d’Agoult
Compositions at Weimar
Eight years in Rome
Last years
Legacy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Black and white portrait of Hungarian composer Franz Liszt with shoulder-length white hair, wearing a dark coat and looking slightly to the side.

At a Glance

Franz Liszt summary

Quizzes

Illustration of musical notes. classical music composer composition. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society, music notes

Composers & Their Music

Related Questions

At what age did Franz Liszt begin composing music?
How did Franz Liszt change piano writing and orchestral music during the Romantic era?
How did Franz Liszt spend his final years between Rome, Weimar, and Budapest?
How did Franz Liszt’s late music anticipate composers such as Claude Debussy and Arnold Schoenberg?
How did Franz Liszt’s religious interests shape his music in Rome?
How did Franz Liszt’s thematic transformation influence Richard Wagner’s leitmotifs?
How did Hector Berlioz influence Franz Liszt’s music?
How did Hungarian magnates support Franz Liszt’s musical education?
How did Niccolò Paganini influence Franz Liszt’s piano technique?
How did audiences respond to Franz Liszt’s Paris debut in 1824?
How did the death of Ádám Liszt affect Franz Liszt’s life?
How did Ádám Liszt influence Franz Liszt’s early musical education?
How long did Franz Liszt tour Europe as a virtuoso after 1839?
How many compositions did Franz Liszt write?
What are Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études known for?
When did Franz Liszt die?
When was Franz Liszt born?
Where did Franz Liszt die?
Where did Franz Liszt give his first public concerts as a child?
Where was Franz Liszt born?
Which English king did Franz Liszt perform for at Windsor Castle?
Which books and essays did Franz Liszt write about other composers and music?
Which composers did Franz Liszt help popularize through his concerts and piano transcriptions?
Which religious works did Franz Liszt compose during his years in Rome?
Which writers and artists did Franz Liszt meet in Paris after his illness?
Who taught Franz Liszt composition in Vienna?
Who taught Franz Liszt piano in Vienna?
Who was Marie d’Agoult?
Who was Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein?
Why did Franz Liszt resign from his position in Weimar?
Why did Franz Liszt stop his touring career as a piano virtuoso?
Why did Franz Liszt transcribe Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique for piano?
Why did some critics attack Franz Liszt’s musical innovations?
Why was Franz Liszt refused admission to the Paris Conservatoire?
How did Franz Liszt begin his career in music?
What did Franz Liszt do while in Weimar, Germany?
What was the role of religion in Franz Liszt’s life?
How did Franz Liszt popularize the music of other composers?
What was Claude Debussy’s early life like?
What were George Gershwin’s jobs?
What did George Gershwin compose?
What was Antonín Dvořák’s early life like?
Why is Igor Stravinsky so famous?
What was Igor Stravinsky’s family like?

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External Websites

World History Encyclopedia - Franz Liszt
CUNY Pressbooks Network - Understanding Music: BMCC Edition - Music of Franz Liszt (1811Â–1886)
Library of Congress - Franz Liszt
NPR - How Franz Liszt Became The World's First Rock Star
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - Franz Liszt
Bach Cantatas Website - Biography of Franz Liszt
Naxos - Biography of Franz Liszt
AllMusic - Franz Liszt
BBC - Forget the Beatles ï¿½ Liszt was music's first 'superstar'

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Franz Liszt - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Franz Liszt

Hungarian composer

Also known as: Liszt Ferenc

Written by

Humphrey Searle

Composer. Professor of Composition, Royal College of Music, London. Author of The Music of Liszt and others.

Humphrey Searle

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 27, 2026 •History

Franz Liszt (born October 22, 1811, Doborján, kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire [now Raiding, Austria]—died July 31, 1886, Bayreuth, Germany) was a Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer. Among his many notable compositions are his 12 symphonic poems, two (completed) piano concerti, several sacred choral works, and a great variety of solo piano pieces. Liszt’s father, Ádám Liszt, was an official in the service of Prince Nicolas Eszterházy, whose palace in Eisenstadt was frequented by many...

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