“And the next day, having poured forth the inexhaustible treasure of his inspiration, he hastens away, leaving behind him a glittering train of glory and enthusiasm. It is a dream! One of those golden dreams which one has when he is named Liszt or Paganini.”
HESSE’S CRITICISM OF LISZT.
Hesse, the famous German organist, after hearing Liszt play at Breslau, in 1859, recalls his playing sixteen years previously in the same place. He writes to the Breslauer Zeitung:
“On the 9th of May, a grand concert was arranged in the Schiesswerder Hall, by Herr Doctor Leopold Damrosch, in honor of, and with the cooperation of, the Court-Capellmeister Herr Doctor Franz Liszt. Liszt, the great, genial master of the piano-forte, who with his achievements on this instrument alarmed the world, gave eleven concerts here in Breslau in the year 1843, with ever increasing success. He electrified his hearers by such playing as no one had shown before. Whoever thought to give himself up to his playing with the calm and comfortable feeling that he would to the performances of Hummel and other masters, was greatly mistaken. Liszt transferred his moods to the piano. He screwed up the feelings of the hearer to a pitch of feverish excitement, but he allowed them also to subside occasionally. We were at that time so fortunate as to be daily in his presence and admire his magical play. His repertoire was multifarious; he played all masters.
“We will not waste words about his gigantic technique, his art of singing on the instrument, etc.; these are well-known things; thousands have heard him. But we can not forbear alluding to one composition; we mean his ‘Reminiscences from Don Juan,’ one of the most genial of piano pieces. We lament for any one who has not heard him play these reminiscences. The marble guest on horseback, the insinuating Don Juan with his La ci darem, the struggling and at last consenting Zerlina, the Champagne song, etc., all this did Liszt pass before our minds in such a way that we forgot Liszt, concert-hall and all; one awoke from the performance as from a blissful dream. Four times we heard this piece by him, and always with the same emotions.”
LISZT’S PRINCIPAL SCHOLARS.
| Hans Von Buelow, Meiningen. | Siegfried Langaard, Denmark. |
| [B]Carl Tausig. | Carl Pohlig. |
| [B]Franz Bendel. | Arthur Friedheim. |
| Hans Von Bronsart, Hanover. | L. Marek, Limberg. |
| Carl Klindworth, Moscow. | F. Reuss, Baden-Baden. |
| Alexander Winterberger, St. Petersburg. | Berthrand Roth, Frankfort. |
| Julius Reubke. | —— Kollerman. |
| [B]Theodore Ratzenberger. | Carl Stasny. |
| [B]Robert Pflughaupt. | Joseph Wieniawsky. |
| Frederick Altschul. | Ingeborg Stark-Bronsart. |
| [B]Nicholas Neilissoff. | Sophie Menter-Popper. |
| Carl Baermann, Munich. | [B]Sophie Pflughaupt. |
| Dionys Pruckner, Stuttgart. | [B]Aline Hundt. |
| Ferdinand Schreiber. | Pauline Fichtner-Erdmannsdoerfer. |
| Louis Rothfeld. | Ahrenda Blume. |
| J. Sipass, Budapest. | Anna Mehlig. |
| George Leitert. | Vera Timanoff, Russia. |
| Julius Richter. | Martha Remmert. |
| Louis Jungmann, Weimar. | Sara Magnus-Heinze. |
| William Mason, New York. | Dora Peterson. |
| Max Pinner, New York. | Ilonka Ravacz, Hungary. |
| Jules Zarembsky, Brussels. | Cecilia Gaul, America. |
| G. Sgambati, Rome. | Marie Breidenstein, Erfurt. |
| Carlo Lippi, Rome. | Amy Fay, America. |
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Hungarian for “Franz.”
[B] Deceased.