Franz Liszt - Biography.

Franz Liszt - Biography. Hungarian-born piano virtuoso, composer, and teacher Birth October 22, 1811 Death July 31, 1886 Place of Birth Raiding, near Sopron, Hungary Principal Paris, France; Weimar, Germany; Rome, Italy; Budapest, Hungary Residence Milestones 1821-1823 Studied with Austrian pianist Carl Czerny and Italian composer Antonio Salieri in Vienna, Austria 1823 Studied with Italian opera composer Ferdinando Paër and Czech-French composer Anton Reicha in Paris 1831 Heard the Italian violinist Nicolò Paganini, whose virtuosity inspired Liszt to become equally proficient on the piano 1839-1847 Toured Europe extensively while continuing to compose 1848-1861 Settled in Weimar with Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein and took up duties as musical director at the grand ducal court 1846-1885 The 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies were published 1851 Composed the 12 Transcendental Etudes 1853 Completed the Sonata in B Minor 1854 The symphonic poem Les préludes was first performed 1861 Settled in Rome, his main residence for nearly ten years, primarily composing religious works Did You Know Liszt devoted much of his time to teaching, and sometimes gave lessons for free. After 1847 Liszt rarely performed in public, although his concerts had been extremely successful. In 1865 Liszt took the four minor orders of the Catholic Church--porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte--and became a secular cleric. Liszt's daughter Cosima married German composer Richard Wagner. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.