Book I
The Virtuoso Years
1811-1847
Prologue
Liszt and the Literature
Do not entangle yourself in too many details.
-Liszt to Lina Ramann,c.1881
I fear that ( Ramann)will be unable to see the wood for the trees.
-Liszt to Princess von Saynwittgenstein
I
The normal way biography is written is to allow the basic materials--letters,diaries,manuscripts--to disclose the life. And if those materials are missing,one goes out and finds them.That did not happen with Liszt. Because of the unparalleled fame,even notoriety ,enjoyed by Liszt during his lifetime (eclipsing by far that of all his musical contemporaries ),a complete reversal of the "normal"process took place. Everywhere he went Liszt lived out his life in a blaze of publicity. People clamoured for literature about him. And so the biographies came first;the hard evidence turned up later. Most of the energy expended by the modern Liszt researcher has to do with correcting the former in the light of the latter. Liszt himself entertained no illusions about his biographers . They often irritated him,and for good reason；some of them,as we shall discover ,had a genuine talent of invention. Occasionally Liszt correct their work. By the time he reached old age,however,he was resigned to his fate: the groundwork for that generous supply of misinformation,half truth ,and legend which taints the Liszt literature to this day had already been prepared.
The Virtuoso Years
1811-1847
Prologue
Liszt and the Literature
Do not entangle yourself in too many details.
-Liszt to Lina Ramann,c.1881
I fear that ( Ramann)will be unable to see the wood for the trees.
-Liszt to Princess von Saynwittgenstein
I
The normal way biography is written is to allow the basic materials--letters,diaries,manuscripts--to disclose the life. And if those materials are missing,one goes out and finds them.That did not happen with Liszt. Because of the unparalleled fame,even notoriety ,enjoyed by Liszt during his lifetime (eclipsing by far that of all his musical contemporaries ),a complete reversal of the "normal"process took place. Everywhere he went Liszt lived out his life in a blaze of publicity. People clamoured for literature about him. And so the biographies came first;the hard evidence turned up later. Most of the energy expended by the modern Liszt researcher has to do with correcting the former in the light of the latter. Liszt himself entertained no illusions about his biographers . They often irritated him,and for good reason；some of them,as we shall discover ,had a genuine talent of invention. Occasionally Liszt correct their work. By the time he reached old age,however,he was resigned to his fate: the groundwork for that generous supply of misinformation,half truth ,and legend which taints the Liszt literature to this day had already been prepared.
