An Artist's Journey: Lettres d'un bachelier es musique, 1835-1841 [Hardcover]

Franz Liszt (Author), Charles Suttoni (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0226485102 | ISBN-13: 978-0226485102 | Edition: 1

In these eloquent and intensely personal writings, Franz Liszt sketches the cities, people, and scenes of his travels in the 1830s and explores ideas about art and its ideal place in the world. During six years of wandering through Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, and Germany (four of them together with Countess Marie d'Agoult), the composer saw the greatest art and most fabulous landscapes of Europe and crossed paths with celebrated singers and artists, renowned intellectuals, infamous socialites, and both reigning and deposed aristocracy. The article/essays that emerged from this period are both public and private: though written for the Paris press, they are the closest that Liszt came to autobiography. Some of these writings are travel articles; some are essentially reports of a music correspondent; still others are personal and confessional; and some are really essays on the nature of art. All offer precious insight into the musical, social, and intellectual life in the major European capitals seen through the eyes of one of the most well-read and influential musical personalities of the period.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Previously unpublished in English, these 16 essays describe the places, people and intellectual life Franz Liszt encountered during his six years of wandering as a concert pianist in Western Europe. Addressed to George Sand, Heinrich Heine and Hector Berlioz, among others, and basically concerned with Liszt's own role as an artist, some of the pieces are confessional, a few are musical reports, others contain high-minded insights into the nature of art and genius. Like Liszt's musical compositions of that period, the letters are full of extravagance and hyperbole. Suttoni annotates each essay, includes the letters from Sand, Heine and Berlioz that elicited Liszt's replies and addresses the controversy attached to the authorship of these letters by concluding that the writing consists of Liszt's philosophy, substance and ideas expressed in the words of his mistress, Marie d'Agoult. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This first English edition of the series of articles Liszt wrote for the Parisian press in the late 1830s as he traveled with his mistress Marie D'Agoult is also the most complete. It includes three articles missing from earlier editions and three pieces by George Sand, Heine, and Berlioz to which some of Liszt's articles reply. Translator Suttoni's excellent commentary sheds further light on questions regarding authorship. Though pale beside Liszt's music, these writings are like conversations among artists. Besides remarking on the musical life and tastes of the cities of Europe, they reveal Liszt's depth of thinking about his own identity and purpose as an artist and foreshadow his future development. For music collections.
- Steven J. Squires, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (June 27, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226485102
• ISBN-13: 978-0226485102
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,392,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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