When Franz Liszt came to town back in the day, crowds would swarm, women would faint and fans would fight over any bit of memorabilia they could put their hands on. More than 100 years before the Beatles and Elvis, it was the Hungarian-based piano virtuoso who was fascinating European audiences.
Today, Liszt continues to hold the attention of musicians and audiences alike, and in celebration of his upcoming birthday on Oct. 22, Remenyi House of Music in downtown Toronto recently invited renowned American pianist Jeffrey Siegel to honour the great composer with a musical journey through his life and music.
Entitled “From Heart to Art: The Romantic Music of Franz Liszt,” the concert was part of Seigel’s Keyboard Conversations series in which the pianist plays the music of the masters and also speaks to the audience before performing each composition.
Rich Musical Vocabulary
Siegel referred to Liszt as “one of the most underestimated and least understood” composers. One of the reasons, he explained, is that Liszt suffers from what prominent Liszt scholar Alan Walker calls the phenomenon of the “punch drunk virtuoso”—pianists who find Liszt’s music technically challenging and merely try to get through the notes, without putting any heart in it.
Walker, who was in the audience that night, admired Siegel’s enthusiastic and buoyant playing. “Nothing can be accomplished in music without enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the tide which lifts us all and makes us enjoy whatever is being offered all the more,” he said. A friend of Siegel’s, Walker especially appreciates Seigel’s pre-concert commentary, something “which puts us in a good mood.”
Throughout the concert, Siegel highlighted Liszt’s great collegial spirit and his championing of the music of his contemporaries, which Liszt often paraphrased for the piano and then performed. While the works were great in their own right, through his adaptation he made them his own, as if they were written for the piano.
Walker compared great musical language to that of great writers like Shakespeare and Dante. “[Liszt’s] vocabulary is extremely rich. He always has something to catch the ear, to hold the interest. His music is never boring,” he said.
Musical Education
Siegel’s concert, with its commentary format, was a treat because in addition to playing Liszt’s music, he explained the context in which each piece was composed as well as the mood and musical qualities of the pieces. He would begin each song with a short introduction, play the passage, stop and explain the meaning, and afterward play the whole piece, giving the audiences the thrill of recognizing the musical passage in the larger piece.
In the Q&A session that followed, Siegel said that although Liszt’s music already speaks well for itself, the commentary serves to make it more enriching and meaningful.
In addition to Liszt’s anniversary celebration, the event anticipated the launch in Canada of Bechstein pianos later this year. Siegel performed on a Bechstein grand piano and emphasized the importance of a fine instrument for a musician.
Interestingly, the Remenyi store has some connections with Liszt himself. The store was founded in Hungary, Liszt’s homeland, in the late 19th century, and the owner’s ancestor was court musician Edouard Remenyi, a close friend of Liszt’s.
