Weimar celebrates Franz Liszt, the "first European artist"

By Katrin Zeiss and Antje Lauschner Oct 20, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Weimar, Germany - 'Now I like to first think of Weimar - my guiding star whose pleasant rays illuminate my long path,' Franz Liszt wrote to Carl Alexander, ruler of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in 1846.

When the visionary composer wrote those lines, he did not yet know what a vital role Weimar - now a German city famous for its cultural heritage - would play in his life.

Weimar and the rest of the country are marking the 200th birth anniversary of one of Europe's greatest composers during a Liszt Year spanning about 200 concerts, exhibitions, contests and other events.

German President Christian Wulff will attend the main celebration at the German National Theatre in Weimar on October 22, the 200th anniversary of Liszt's birth.

Two years after penning his letter to Carl Alexander, Liszt settled in Weimar, where he lived for 30 years - albeit with interruptions - and where he composed most of his main works.

Feted all over Europe during his life, Liszt has been described as the first truly European artist.

Yet he had almost been forgotten by the early 20th century, says Wolfram Huschke, head of the Franz Liszt Centre and president of the German Liszt Society.

'Liszt was cosmopolitan,' and he did not fit into national categories, he explains.

Christoph Stoelzl, president of the Liszt School of Music in Weimar, speaks about a 'Liszt renaissance,' but Huschke is not quite as enthusiastic.

Liszt's compositions still do not come across as well as those of his contemporaries Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin, he says.

Liszt was born in Raiding, in the Hungarian part of the Austrian empire, and died in Bayreuth on July 31, 1886.

He was a breathtaking pianist already by the age of 9. His father - a civil servant and musician - soon became aware of Franz' monumental talent, and travelled with his son around Europe to take him to concerts and lessons.

In Paris, Liszt met some of the cultural personalities of the day. Soon he was on friendly terms with the likes of Honore de Balzac, Heinrich Heine, Chopin, Hector Berlioz and Giacomo Meyerbeer.

In Weimar, Liszt conducted the court orchestra from 1848 to 1861, and helped to bring a new cultural revival to the city after the Goethe era.

His works written in Weimar include 12 symphonic poems representing an avant-garde interplay of word and music. The Faust Symphony and Prometheus - inspired by German classical music - created musical literature.

Yet Liszt's stay in Weimar was not without disappointments. Nothing came of a long-hoped-for Goethe foundation, or of a festival hall to host the operas of his son-in-law, Richard Wagner. That plan became reality later on in Bayreuth.

Later on, from 1869 onwards, Liszt spent only his summers in Weimar. He lived in a court garden house on the outskirts of the Ilm Park, where he taught his students.

A museum that reopened there in March after renovations has benefitted from the Liszt Year.

About 26,000 people - three times the numbers in former years - have visited the five rooms with grand piano «Bechstein», on which the master gave lessons.

Around 20,000 people have also visited the large Liszt exhibition at the Schiller Museum and the City Castle.