Did Beethoven Kiss Liszt ?
What is this story of Liszt playing for Beethoven when he was just a kid. What did Liszt play?
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"Finis coronat opus " -
Spaceray,Originally posted by spaceray:
What is this story of Liszt playing for Beethoven when he was just a kid. What did Liszt play?
The story goes that on April 13th, 1823, at a concert, in front of no less than 4000 people and the great Beethoven himself, young Franz Liszt played , Hummel's piano concerto in A minor, and a Fantasia of his own, the andante of Beethoven's symphony in C minor, after which Beethoven supposedly walked up to young Franz and either kissed him on the forehead or hugged him and said softly, "You are a lucky fellow, for you are going to make lots of people happy and gratified, there is nothing better or more beautiful".
Presumably Beethoven took his ear trumpet to hear the concert. Or would he hear sufficiently without his hearing aid?
Just a thought.
[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited February 06, 2004).]~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~ -
I got here a comment about, by Marina and Victor Ledin:
"There are varied legends about Liszt's meeting with Beethoven. Separating fact from fiction, what we know is that he met B. in Vienna, a day or two before Liszt's concert at the small Imperial Redoutensaal on Sunday, 13th April, 1823. The legends tells us that B. attended the concert, at the conclusion of which, he stepped to the plattform, and warmly embracing the eleven-year-old, bestowed on him the socalled 'Weihekuss' or kiss of consecration, wishing the boy health, happiness and success. The supposed event was given further substance in a lithograph of 1873 by Istvan Halasz. We now know that no such public display ever took place. ...
By the time he met Liszt, his deafness had become profound. Despite this, he continued to use ear trumpets and a wooden 'drumstick' applied to his teeth to aid his hearing. In 1823, moreover, Beethoven developed a prolonged, painful ophthalmic complaint which lasted from April to the following January; photophobia (an abnormal sensitivity or intolerance to light) was apparently the most prominent symptom. It seems unlikely, therefor that B. would have attended a concert, and even less likely that he would have approached the performer or created a plublic spectacle with the socalled 'Weihekuss'.
According to B's. Conversation Books, it appears that Liszt visited B. the day before the concert, in order to ask him for a theme, in a sealed envelope, on which he could improvise at his concert. B. did not provide the requested theme. Many years later, in 1875, Liszt gave the following oral account (printed in many sources on B. and Liszt; this English version is from Paul Nettl's B. Encyclopedia) to his pupil Ilka Horowitz-Barnay, of his only meeting with B.: 'I was about eleven years of age when my venerated teacher Czerny took me to B. He had told the latter about me a long time before, and had begged him to listen to me play some time. Yet B. had such a repugnance to infant prodigies that he had always violently objected to receiving me. Finally, however, he allowed himself to be persuaded by the indefatigable Czerny, and in the end cried impatiently: "In God's name, then bring me the young Turk!" It was ten o'clock in the morning when he entered the two small rooms in the Schwarzspanierhaus (That was a mistake, B. was living at Obere Pfarrgasse 60) which B. occupied: I somewhat shyly, Czerny amiably encouraging me. Beethoven was working at a long, narrow table by the window. He looked gloomily at us for a time, said a few brief to Czerny and remained silent when my kind teacher beckoned me to the piano. I first played a short piece by Ries. When I had finished B. asked me wether I could play a Bach fugue. I chose the C minor Fugue from the 'Well Tempered Clavier'. "And could you also transpose the Fugue at once into another key?" B. asked me. Fortunately I was able to do so. After my closing chord I glaced up. The great Master's darkly glowing gaze lay piercingly upon me. Yet suddenly a gentle smile passed over to me, stooped down, put his hand on my head, and stroked my hair several times. "A devil of a fellow," he whispered, "a regular young Turk!" Suddenly I felt quite brave. "May I play something of yours now?" I boldly asked. B. smiled and nodded. I played the first mvmnt of the C major Concerto. When I had concluded B. caught hold of me with both hands, kissed me on the forehead and said gently: "Go! You are one of the fortunate ones! For you will give joy and happiness to many other people! There is nothing better or finer!" Liszt told the preceding in a tone of deepest emotion, with tears in his eyes, and a warm note of happiness sounded in the simple tale. For a brief space he was silent and then said: "This event in my life has remained my greatest pride – the palladium of my whole career as an artist. I tell it but very seldom and – only to good friends!'
(Marina and Victor Ledin)Comment
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Thank you,what an interesting story,I understand that Liszt owned a few pieces of Beethoven memoribilia including the great composers piano.Do you know if he was the owner of the Heiligenstadt Testament,sold to him by nephew Carl's mother?"Finis coronat opus "Comment
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SpacerayOriginally posted by spaceray:
Thank you,what an interesting story,I understand that Liszt owned a few pieces of Beethoven memoribilia including the great composers piano.Do you know if he was the owner of the Heiligenstadt Testament,sold to him by nephew Carl's mother?
I don't know that he ever owned the 'Heiligenstädter Testament'? But the death mask and how you said the Broadwood. Also he made activities for Beethoven monuments in Bonn and Vienna and Beethoven Festivals.
His Piano Transcriptions (I listened to the 'Eroica' today) are a wonderful evidence of his admiration to Beethoven and his music. Found this report of a Heinrich Adami of the Allgemeine Theaterzeitung, November 21th, 1839:
"The first piece that Liszt played in his first concert was the three last movements of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. The transcription of this great and complicated composition for the pianoforte was a task as daring as it was difficult. if it was not to be only a brilliant concert piece, but much more than that, a work without arbitrary additions or omissions reproduced with artistic fidelity and scrupulousness according to its spirit and its innermost being, and only an artist like Liszt, who, with an unbounded reverence for Beethoven, has rare gifts in understanding the great German master, only such an artist was able and dared venture on so dangerous an undertaking."
Sounds like a beautiful concert!
[This message has been edited by Pastorali (edited February 06, 2004).]Comment
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On the subject of the symphony transcriptions I recently got my hands on a recording of Beethoven's own transcription of part of the opening bars of the 7th Symphony. It only lasts 3 minutes andthe manner of writing is, I would say 'skeletal' in that he has not attempted to fill in the sound as a recomposed piece. What his motivation was for this I don't know at this point. The CD notes give no infoOriginally posted by Pastorali:
Spaceray
I don't know that he ever owned the 'Heiligenstädter Testament'? But the death mask and how you said the Broadwood. Also he made activities for Beethoven monuments in Bonn and Vienna and Beethoven Festivals.
His Piano Transcriptions (I listened to the 'Eroica' today) are a wonderful evidence of his admiration to Beethoven and his music. Found this report of a Heinrich Adami of the Allgemeine Theaterzeitung, November 21th, 1839:
"The first piece that Liszt played in his first concert was the three last movements of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. The transcription of this great and complicated composition for the pianoforte was a task as daring as it was difficult. if it was not to be only a brilliant concert piece, but much more than that, a work without arbitrary additions or omissions reproduced with artistic fidelity and scrupulousness according to its spirit and its innermost being, and only an artist like Liszt, who, with an unbounded reverence for Beethoven, has rare gifts in understanding the great German master, only such an artist was able and dared venture on so dangerous an undertaking."
Sounds like a beautiful concert!
[This message has been edited by Pastorali (edited February 06, 2004).]
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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod CorkinComment
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Liszt did receive Beethoven's Broadwood piano in 1846. However, I have not read anything about him owning the Heilgenstadt. There is an interesting timeline on Liszt life at this site:Originally posted by spaceray:
Thank you,what an interesting story,I understand that Liszt owned a few pieces of Beethoven memoribilia including the great composers piano.Do you know if he was the owner of the Heiligenstadt Testament,sold to him by nephew Carl's mother?
http://www.d-vista.com/OTHER/Liszttime.html
about Liszt and other composers including Beethoven.
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'Truth and beauty joined''Truth and beauty joined'Comment
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Nevertheless an interesting piece to have, I think. Is it numbered somehow?Originally posted by Rod:
On the subject of the symphony transcriptions I recently got my hands on a recording of Beethoven's own transcription of part of the opening bars of the 7th Symphony. It only lasts 3 minutes andthe manner of writing is, I would say 'skeletal' in that he has not attempted to fill in the sound as a recomposed piece. What his motivation was for this I don't know at this point. The CD notes give no info
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