Donald Macleod uncovers key aspects of Liszt’s soul and identity

Franz Liszt was the original musical heartthrob - the most photographed man of the 19th century, who left a legacy of more than 700 compositions and in the course of his career made well over 1000 concert appearances. With his electrifying talent at the keyboard, he transformed the status of musician from servant to demigod. But he was also a man of complex character, who wore many masks and repeatedly reinvented himself. This week, Donald Macleod uncovers key slices of Liszt’s soul and identity.

Music Featured:

Prelude (No 1 from 12 Transcendental studies)
Grand galop chromatique
“Un sospiro” (from 3 Etudes de concert, S144 No 3)
“La Campanella” (from Grandes Etudes de Paganini, S141 No 3)
Mephisto Waltz No 1
Piano Concerto No 1 in E flat major, S124
Gnomenreigen
En rêve
Romance oubliée, S132
Premiere année de pèlerinage, S160: Suisse (excerpt)
Die Lorelei
Les Preludes
Liebestraum No 3 in A flat major
Salve Regina
Dante Symphony S109 (iii. Magnificat)
Les morts: Oraison
Legendes, S175: St Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds
10 Harmonies poetiques et religieuses: Benediction de dieu dans la solitude (excerpt)
Christus, Part 3: Resurrexit
Mephisto Waltz No 4
Der Doppelgänger (after Schubert’s Schwanengesang)
Grandes études de Paganini, No 5 “La Chasse”, S141
La lugubre gondola II
Funeral Odes, No 3 “Le triomphe funebre du Tasse”
Consolation No 1 in E major, S172
Kennst du das Land
Rakoczy March (from Hungarian Rhapsody No 15)
Enfant, si j’etais roi
Im Rhein, im schoenen Strome
Isten Veled!
Troisieme année de pèlerinage: Les jeux d’eau sur la villa d’Este
Wiegenlied
Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 (orch. Doppler)

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales & West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Franz Liszt (1811-1886) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002454z

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z