However, their longtime tryst did give Liszt a name. By 1844, they had split, and Marie had returned to Paris. Their cohabitation produced two more children, Marie all the while still married to her first husband. Here, they began a Bohemian life together, the Countess taking up writing while Liszt composed. In a hot scandal, the couple fled Paris for Switzerland. What began as a fling with the dashing young composer turned serious when Marie fell pregnant. 6 years Liszt’s senior, the Countess was intelligent, blue-blooded, and married - unhappily. Most notably, there was the Countess Marie d’Agoult. In his 20s and 30s, he had a history of high-profile affairs with married noblewomen, which added to his allure. Young Franz Liszt had quite the reputation as a heartbreaker. Franz Liszt’s Scandalous Love Affairs Portrait de Marie de Flavigny Agoult, comtesse d’Agoult by Henri Lehmann, 1839, via Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

So just what was it that made Franz Liszt so magnetic to so many at this time in history? Here are 4 reasons why Liszt was so adored by his fans.ġ. No longer relying on wealthy patrons, Romantic poets and artists had to build a following to survive in the arts. In the romantic music era, the modern celebrity was starting to take shape. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you!Īnecdotes aplenty tell us Franz Liszt had reached meteoric stardom. “And what is the real cause of this phenomenon?… A physician whose speciality is the disorders of women and with whom I conversed as to the magic which our Liszt exercises on his public, smiled mysteriously and told many things of magnetism, galvanism, electricity, of contagion in an overheated hall.” Articulating the craze in 1844, Heinrich Hein penned the term “Lisztomania.” He described it as a contagion in medical terms: Packed crowds stole cuttings of his hair, his coffee dregs - even his cigar butts.Ĭoncert halls were pandemonium. Before there was “merch,” there were women pasting Liszt’s likeness onto their brooches and cameos. Women reportedly fought over handkerchiefs Liszt had used, or crafted his broken piano strings into bracelets. Liszt had a habit of making female fans do some crazy things.

Wherever he went, Franz Liszt inspired delirium in starstruck fans - mostly women. The glamorous pianist toured the breadth of Europe. Quite rightly, Franz Liszt has been called the world’s first rock star. His works have said to have inspired several generations of music composers and he also enjoys a demigod status among many students of music even today.Franz Liszt and Lisztomania Portrait of Franz Liszt by Ary Scheffer, via The British Museum, London A concert of Niccolò Paganini inspired Franz Joseph Liszt greatly and he decided to leave no stone unturned to become a great musician. But the determined musician bounced back and continued pursuing music eventually. A string of setbacks following his father’s death, in a way, distracted the Hungarian composer and the man almost died due to ill health. Unlike many talented celebrities who bloomed late, Franz Joseph Liszt proved his mettle at a very young age and gained popularity across several parts of Europe. His father too was a musician who played several instruments and perhaps that’s why many believe that music was embedded in his genes.

His outstanding talents gave him the opportunity to become one of the most eminent members of the New German School or the Neudeutsche Schule. Apart from his talents as a piano artist, he was also a proficient composer, piano teacher, and conductor. His virtuosic pianist skills were far more technically advanced than his contemporaries were. Franz Liszt was a famous Hungarian composer and pianist.

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