Franz Liszt Sheet Music, recordings, program notes and biography

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Download high-quality, printable PDF sheet music from the legendary Franz Liszt, the 19th century's original rockstar and one of the greatest pianists of all time. This page is your portal to the virtuosic and passionate works that captivated a continent. Instantly access the scores for his dazzling Hungarian Rhapsodies, the sublime Liebesträume (3), the formidable Transcendental Études, and more. Whether you are a student aspiring to master the piano or an admirer of Romantic passion, explore the life of this musical titan and download the sheet music that forever changed the possibilities of the keyboard.

• Born: October 22, 1811, Raiding, Kingdom of Hungary (now Austria)

• Died: July 31, 1886, Bayreuth, German Empire

• Nationality: Hungarian

• Era: Romantic

• Known For: Virtuoso piano performance, Hungarian Rhapsodies, Inventing the Symphonic Poem

Section 3: Detailed Biography

The Devil at the Keyboard: The Birth of Lisztomania

In the 1840s, a strange fever swept across Europe. Its symptoms included frenzied shrieking, fainting spells, and physical brawls over a gentleman’s discarded gloves or cigarette butts. The cause? A handsome, long-haired Hungarian pianist with electrifying stage presence and a technical ability that bordered on the supernatural. The poet Heinrich Heine, witnessing the hysteria firsthand, coined a term for it: "Lisztomania." This was not just a concert; it was a cultural phenomenon. Franz Liszt was more than a musician; he was the world’s first superstar, a figure of such magnetic charisma and earth-shattering talent that he transformed the very nature of musical performance, commanding a level of adulation that wouldn't be seen again until the age of Elvis and The Beatles.

The Prodigy from Raiding

Franz Liszt was born in Raiding, Hungary, to Adam Liszt, a talented amateur musician who worked as an administrator on the estate of the Esterházy family—the same patrons who employed Joseph Haydn decades earlier. Recognizing his son's prodigious talent from an astonishingly early age, Adam devoted himself entirely to his son's musical education. After the young Liszt dazzled local aristocrats, a group of them sponsored his studies in Vienna.

There, he became a student of Carl Czerny, himself a former pupil of Beethoven, who honed Liszt’s formidable technique. He also studied composition with Antonio Salieri, the respected Imperial Kapellmeister. By age 12, he was a sensation in the musical capitals of Europe. The family moved to Paris, the epicenter of the Romantic movement, but Liszt was denied entry to the prestigious Paris Conservatoire because he was a foreigner. Undeterred, he conquered the city through its salons, where his brilliant playing and charming personality made him a favorite of the artistic elite.

The Virtuoso Years: The Paganini of the Piano

The pivotal moment in Liszt’s artistic development came in 1832 when he witnessed a concert by the Italian violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. Liszt was awestruck by Paganini's demonic technique and showmanship, which seemed to defy all human limits. He became obsessed with achieving a similar "transcendental" technique on the piano. He retreated into seclusion, practicing relentlessly for hours a day, re-emerging as a pianist unlike any the world had ever seen. He developed new techniques—thundering octaves, rapid-fire repeated notes, and sweeping arpeggios—that dramatically expanded the expressive range and power of the instrument.

During this period in Paris, he moved in a circle of artistic giants, forming close friendships (and sometimes rivalries) with composers like Frédéric Chopin and Hector Berlioz, and writers like Victor Hugo and George Sand. It was Liszt who pioneered the solo piano performance as a standalone event. Before him, instrumentalists always appeared as part of a varied program. Liszt invented the "recital," holding the stage alone for an entire evening, a testament to his incredible stamina and captivating showmanship.

Weimar, Rome, and Revolution: The Composer and Abbé

In 1847, at the absolute zenith of his fame and earning power, Liszt did the unthinkable: he retired from the concert stage. He was only 35. He explained that the life of a traveling virtuoso was preventing him from focusing on what he now considered his true calling: composition. He accepted a position as Kapellmeister in Weimar, Germany, where he settled with the Polish princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who would be his partner and intellectual confidante for years.

His Weimar period was his most creatively fertile. He conducted operas by his contemporaries, championing neglected or controversial works, most notably those of his friend and future son-in-law, Richard Wagner. It was here that Liszt invented a new orchestral form: the symphonic poem. These were single-movement works that sought to translate literature, painting, or philosophical ideas into music, using a technique called "thematic transformation," where a single melodic idea is continuously altered to represent different emotions or parts of a story.

In the 1860s, Liszt's life took another surprising turn. He moved to Rome, deepened his Catholic faith, and in 1865, took minor holy orders, becoming known as "Abbé Liszt." While he never became a full priest, his new status added another layer of mystique to his complex personality. He divided his later years between Rome, Weimar, and Budapest, where he was revered as a national hero and served as president of the new National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music. Throughout this time, he was a famously generous teacher, offering instruction to hundreds of aspiring pianists—including Hans von Bülow and Alexander Siloti—completely free of charge.

Famous Works: A Legacy in Black and White

Liszt's output for the piano is monumental, encompassing every level of difficulty from lyrical miniatures to some of the most technically demanding pieces ever written.

• Hungarian Rhapsodies: A set of 19 pieces for piano, these works were inspired by the Romani folk music he heard in his homeland. They are celebrated for their fiery rhythms, improvisatory feel, and virtuosic flair. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, with its dramatic contrasts and explosive finale, is by far the most famous.

• Liebesträume ("Dreams of Love"): This set of three nocturnes shows Liszt's lyrical and poetic side. Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat Major is one of the most beloved and recognizable pieces in the entire piano repertoire, a perfect jewel of Romantic expression.

• Piano Sonata in B minor: A titan of the repertoire, this 30-minute, single-movement work is one of Liszt's supreme masterpieces. Using his principle of thematic transformation, he weaves a handful of melodic motifs into a work of epic scope and profound emotional depth.

• Transcendental Études: This set of twelve pieces lives up to its name. Each étude is designed to conquer a specific technical challenge, but they are also highly evocative character pieces, pushing both the piano and the pianist to their absolute limits.

• Années de pèlerinage ("Years of Pilgrimage"): A vast, three-volume collection of pieces inspired by Liszt's travels, art, and literature, representing his musical diary over several decades.

• Transcriptions: Liszt was the greatest transcriber in history, ingeniously rearranging the works of other composers for the piano. His arrangements of Beethoven's symphonies and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique are staggering achievements that make the piano sound like a full orchestra.

Legacy: The Threefold Artist

Franz Liszt’s influence on Western music is immeasurable. He was a threefold revolutionary: as a pianist, he created the template for the modern virtuoso and redefined the physical possibilities of the instrument. As a composer, he was a daring harmonic innovator whose experiments pointed the way towards the dissolution of tonality in the 20th century, and he gave the world the new form of the symphonic poem. Finally, as a teacher and patron, his generosity and tireless support for new music shaped the careers of countless other musicians, including his son-in-law, Richard Wagner. He was, in every sense, the heart of the Romantic century.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt. 3 vols. (Vol. 1: The Virtuoso Years, 1811–1847; Vol. 2: The Weimar Years, 1848–1861; Vol. 3: The Final Years, 1861–1886). Cornell University Press, 1987–1997.

• Hamilton, Kenneth, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Liszt. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

• Rosen, Charles. The Romantic Generation. Harvard University Press, 1995.

• Williams, Adrian. Portrait of Liszt: By Himself and His Contemporaries. Oxford University Press, 1990.