At nine Liszt played in public, then went to Vienna and took lessons from Carl Czerny and Salieri. When twelve years old he played in Paris and “set the world on fire” with his brilliancy. Some one said that after his first concert that he had a triumphal progress to fame over the laps of great ladies, for he was petted and “bon-bonned” and kissed by all.
Liszt wanted to go to the Conservatory in Paris, but as he was a foreigner, Cherubini, though a foreigner himself, would not admit him.
Advertising Liszt
Here is a handbill used for advertising the little boy Liszt:
“An Air”
With grand Variations by Herz, will be performed on Erard’s New Patent-Grand Pianoforte, by:
Master Liszt
Who will likewise perform an Extempore Fantasia and respectfully requests two written Themes from any of the Audience upon which he will play his Variations
This illustrates two interesting things. The first, the mention of the grand pianoforte, which had not been in use very long; the second, the fashion in Liszt’s day of improvising before an audience, a “stunt” almost like solving a cross-word puzzle without a dictionary!
For a long time, he was advertised as two years younger than he was, and his father carried him to the piano; but he soon rebelled at this pretense and it was discontinued.