Liszt

by Sacheverell Sitwell

Old-fashioned but entertaining biography of Liszt by the opinionated Sacheverell Sitwell.

Genres: Music, Classical Music, Biography

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

Reviews

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely detailed biography, although it did have some inexcusable inacuracies like wondering why Liszt hadn't been interested in flamenco during his Iberian tour in 1844. I say this is a ridiculous question because flamenco did not exist as we know it in 1844. What did exist, on the other hand, was the Escuela de Bolera de Baile, and flamenco is simply a combination of this school of dancing, romani people selfetnifying themselves and the music industry carefully curating and marketing a product to sell. In fact, there are no written accounts of flamenco until 1870, so it's a bit strange to ask why Liszt didn't show interest in flamenco because it hadn't been invented yet in the first place.

Still, a really good biography, very light reading.

[Sam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite his averred aim was to celebrate Liszt's compositions as opposed to his pianistic virtuosity, Sacherevell Sitwell does so love a scandal, repeating every one he chances upon if only to refute it. Liszt generously provided him with several, especially the two long time affairs. Written sympathetically especially with regard his Roman Catholic dilemmas and his taking of holy orders; plus lengthy and biased analyses of Liszt's compositions, their origins and performances. Nor does Sacherevell Sitwell stint on details of composers and musicians associated with Liszt. Full bibliography and index. Worth a place in any personal reference library.

[Al Maki]

There are two aspects of the book that seem to stand apart. There's the story of the musical prodigy who sets out to become the world's greatest piano player and succeeds. He becomes a sensation touring all across Europe with various married noblewomen leaving their husbands for scandalous liaisons with him. (If it hasn't been done, somebody should do a study of elopement in the 19th century. It seems to have been one of the few escape routes open. Although there is in this book the fascinating story of the fifteen year old Ukrainian Countess who horse-whipped her new husband the morning after their marriage.) He is central in shaping our idea of piano practice. Then he appears to have had a crisis of conscience, abruptly retires and devotes a long long life to advancing the music of other composers, teaching for no charge and practicing his religion. It's an interesting story of a determined man who continued to do his best by his art form throughout a long life. It's also the story of music in the brief period when it had a mass paying audience but before the arrival of electronic reproduction.
Then there's the telling of the story. Sitwell is a skilled writer, his style is reminiscent of Aldous Huxley although I personally find him more engaging then Huxley. But I had some difficulty with his point of view. Sitwell was a member of the English nobility, just old enough to have fought in The Great War. There are the standard code words of his class - "ugly", "vulgar", used to dismiss certain aspects of modern life; there's the reflexive anti-semitism. there's the assumption of a kind of magisterial judgement that seems so unfounded to me.
I found it a mixed read and can't give it a rating. If you're really interested in the development of piano practice, it's worth a read. It's also worth a read if you're interested in Romanticism.