The Hungarian pianist and composer, Franz Liszt, was born in Raiding, Hungary in 1811. At the age of nine Liszt played in public and afterward was taken to Vienna, where he studied under Czerny and Sailieri. He continued his studies at Paris under Paer and Reicha. Later he made a tour to Vienna, Munich, Stuttgart, and Strasbourg, with great success. In 1849, at the height of popularity, he retired to Weimar to direct the opera and concerts, and to devote his time largely to composition and teaching. Here he brought out works denied a hearing elsewhere, e.g., Wagner's Lohengrin and Belioz' Benvenuto Cellini. Here, too, commenced his close relationship with Wagner. In 1861 he resigned his appointment, and his life was subsequently divided mainly between Weimar, Rome, and Budapest, in which latter city he was in 1870 appointed president of the Academy of Music. In 1865 he received minor orders in the Church of Rome, and was afterward known as Abbé. He was the creator of the symphonic poem. His Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 for piano, as well as his piano transcriptions, remain popular. His literary works include monographs on Chopin and Franz, and a volume on the music of the gypsies. He died in 1886.
