Revolution and Religion in the Music of Liszt

by Paul Merrick

Overview

This study of a hitherto neglected aspect of Liszt and his music aims to restore a balanced view of both man and artist. In contrast to the familiar portrayal of the virtuoso pianist, Liszt is considered here as a serious man of ideas: in tracing the composer's relationships and attitudes to the twin themes of revolution and religion, Paul Merrick finds much of Liszt's music, both secular and sacred, to be inspired by the same deeply felt religious conviction that also governed his private life from an early age. The first part of the book is primarily biographical and considers Liszt's reactions to the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, his relationship with the Abbe Lamennais, the Comtesse d' Agoult, Princess Wittgenstein and Wagner, and contains the first convincing explanation for the sudden cancellation of Liszt's marriage to Princess Wittgenstein. The remaining sections consider the church music and the programmatic music that is related to this.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521083515
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/14/2008
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Part I: 1. 1830: a revolutionary symphony; 2. 1834: Lamennais and Words of a Believer; 3. 1848: revolutions and a Mass; 4. Weimar: Liszt, the Church and Wagner; 5. 1861: Rome, Cardinal Hohenlohe and Princess Wittgenstein; 6. 1865: minor orders; Part II: 7. Liszt and Palestrina: the plan to reform church music; 8. The Masses; 9. The psalms; 10. The oratorios St Elizabeth and Christus; 11. The shorter choral works; 12. The late religious works and Les Morts; Part III: 13. Liszt's programmatic use of fugue; 14. Liszt's Cross motif and the Piano Sonata in B minor; 15. Liszt's path as a composer.