Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany

Liszt’s extraordinary skills as a performer made him to Europe’s biggest music star of the 19th century. According to contemporaries, he was the most technically advanced pianist of his age. Today he is considered a significant and influential composer belonging to the most outstanding representatives of the New German School.

Born 1811 in Hungary, in what is today Burgenland, Liszt toured through all of Europe.

He was an esteemed piano teacher, a conductor making a relevant contribution to the modern development of art and a benefactor to performers and composers.

Some of his most important contributions include the invention of the symphonic poem, the development of the concept of thematic transformation as well as the radical departure from harmony.

Liszt’s Weimar period

Franz Liszt has been called a citizen of the world, a visionary and even a revolutionary. His unconventional lifestyle also took him to Weimar where he spent the most productive time of his artistic life.
As a conductor, Liszt brought the works of controversial composers such as Berlioz, Wagner and Cornelius to the stage in Weimar which transformed the town into a European centre for classical music.
Young musicians flocked to the city to seek inspiration and to share in the spirit of optimism that Weimar still preserves to the present day. Three of the most famous classical composers, Liszt, Bach and Wagner, lived and worked in Weimar and many concerts and festivals feature their works today.

Franz Liszt School of Music

In 1835, Franz Liszt himself came up with the idea of establishing Germany‘s first orchestra school, which he wanted to call the ‚Advanced School of Music‘.
However it was not until 37 years later that his student, Carl Müllerhartung established the Liszt School of Music in Weimar. In the beginning it was limited to teaching orchestral instruments but soon voice, opera, drama and composition were added.

Information:
Liszt School of Music (Hochschule für Musik)
Platz der Demokratie 2 + 3, 99423 Weimar
Web: www.hfm-weimar.de