Born in Hungary, he was the son of a steward who was employed by a wealthy family. A group of Hungarian noblemen offered him funds to pursue his musical studies in Paris. Once in Paris, Liszt formed close friendships with leaders of French Romanticism, one of whom was Chopin.
As a virtuoso, Liszt was not only a great pianist but also a showman. He displayed the personal magnetism that drew crowds of people. He introduced the current seating at the piano, which showed off his chiseled profile as he created magic with the keys by crouching over the keyboard, caressing the keys or making them sound like thunder. Much like the Beatlemania of the 60's, ladies fainted or fought for his snuff box or tore his handkerchief into shreds. Liszt encouraged this adoration, yet like the Beatles, there was a true musician behind all the acting and dramatics.
He never married, yet his personal life for almost fifty years was riddled with unhappy endings to relationships. The Countess Marie d'Agoult, who wrote novels under the name of Daniel Stern played an important role in his career. With her, he had three children, and their daughter, Cosima became the second wife of the composer Richard Wagner.
In 1848, Liszt left the concert stage in order to spend more time composing. He settled in Weimar, Germany and became the court conductor to the grand duke. His Weimar period (1848 - 1861) produced many of his chief orchestral works. He was also in a position to influence the public and used this power to bring about what he called, "the music of the future." This music was the type that Wagner, Berlioz, and himself advocated. Liszt directed the first performances of operas by both Wagner and Berlioz, plus many other nineteenth-century works.
Also during this time, Princess Carolyn Sayn-Wittgenstein, the wife of a powerful nobleman at the court of the czar fell in love with Liszt. Their home became a centre of artistic activity, and she assisted Liszt in his literary efforts. His two books, one on Gypsy music and Life of Chopin are both expressively written, but both are inaccurate.
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