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Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886
Franz Liszt and his circle collection. -- 1841-1883. -- 26 letters and
carte de visite; other material.
Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and pianist, was born in Raiding near
Sopron on 22 October 1811. He made his debut at the age of nine and subsequently
studied in Vienna with Czerny and Salieri. Later on in Paris he came to
know all the principal artistic figures of the period and was influenced
by Hector Berlioz, Frederic Chopin and Nicolo Paganini. He lived with
Mme. D'Agoult (better known by her pen name, Daniel Stern) between 1833
and 1844 and they had three children. Their daughter Cosima became the
wife of Hans von Bülow and later married Wagner.
Liszt's reputation as a performer rests mainly on the great tours of Europe
and Asia Minor which he undertook between 1838 and 1847. In 1848 he was
persuaded by Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein, whom he had met
in Kiev a few months earlier, to give up his career as a travelling virtuoso
and to concentrate upon composition. He accepted an appointment to settle
at Weimar where he lived with the princess for the next twelve years,
a period during which he wrote or revised many of the major works for
which he is known.
In the face of increasing opposition at Weimar and hoping that the Pope
would sanction a divorce for the Princess, Liszt moved to Rome in 1861,
composing mainly religious music for the next eight years. Invited to
return to Weimar to give master classes in piano in 1869 and given a similar
invitation to return to Budapest two years later, he spent the remaining
years of his life making regular journeys between Rome, Weimar and Budapest.
He died on 31 July 1886 in Bayreuth, Bavaria.
Twenty-four of the letters are written by Liszt to a variety of correspondents;
one letter is addressed to Liszt from the Executive Committee for the
Mozart Jubilee. There is one letter from Dr. S. Jadassohn to an unknown
correspondent. The letters are in French and German. The collection also
includes translations of documents, a conference report for a concert
held in Budapest, a piano completion certificate for one of Liszt's students,
a photograph and a contract.
Researchers may also wish to consult the Alan
Walker fonds, third accrual which contains additional Liszt letters.
Title based on content of collection.
There have been nineteen accruals. The first accrual, letters 1, 4, 5,
6, 8, 11-12, was purchased from The Piano Institute of America in October
1978. The second accrual, letter 7, was purchased in September 1986. The
third accrual, letters 2, 3, 9, 10, was purchased at auction at Sotheby's
by Bertram Rota on 22 November 1989. The fourth accrual (11-1990) letter
14, was purchased at auction at Sotheby's by Bertram Rota for McMaster
University on 17 May 1990. The fifth accrual (10-1990) letter 13, was
purchased from J&J Lubrano Rare Books, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
on 4 June 1990. The sixth accrual, letter 15, was purchased at auction
at Sotheby's by Bertram Rota on 21 November 1990. The seventh accrual
(49-2002) letter 16, was purchased on E-Bay from Alexander Autographs,
19 November 2002. The eighth accrual (51-2002) letter 17, was purchased
on E-Bay from Kotte Autographs, 18 December 2002. The ninth and tenth
accruals (12-2003 and 13-2003) letters 18 and 19, were both purchased
from Clive Farahar and Sophie Dupre, Rare Books, Autographs and Manuscripts,
5 March 2003. The eleventh accrual (25-2003) letter 20 was purchased from
Alexander Autographs, May 2003. The twelfth accrual (29-2006) letter 21,
carte 22, was purchased from Lisa Cox Music in October 2006. The thirteenth
accrual (36-2006), a photograph of Liszt, was purchased from W. Harmuth
of Berlin via ebay in December 2006. The fourteenth accrual (37-2006),
a lithograph of Liszt, was purchased from the Vanity Fair Printing Company
via ebay in December 2006. The fifteenth accrual (02-2007), letter 23
to Sir Alexander Mackenzie, was purchased via ebay in January 2007. The
sixteenth accrual (03-2007), a letter from Salomon Jadassohn, was purchased
via ebay in February 2007.The seventeenth accrual (06-2007), letter 24
to Baron von Droste, was purchased from David Schulson Autographs, New
York. The eighteenth accrual (16-2007), a contract bearing Liszt's signature,
was also purchased from David Schulson Autographs, New York. The nineteenth
accrual (36-2007), letter 25 to Haslinger, was purchased from David Schulson
Autographs in September 2007.
Finding aid at the item level is available in hard copy and electronically.
See also Journal of The American Liszt Society 39 (Jan.-June 1996)
which printed letters numbered 1 to 16 in an article by Pauline Pocknell.
There are no access restrictions.
Further accruals are expected.
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