Living With Liszt: From the Diary of Carl Lachmund and American Pupil of Liszt 1882-1884 (Franz Liszt Studies Series) (Hardcover)

by Carl Lachmund (Author), Alan Walker (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 455 pages
• Publisher: Pendragon Press; Revised edition (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945193564
• ISBN-13: 978-0945193562
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,649,633 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Weimar Era diary worth the read! , May 19, 2007

By	Anthony J. Lomenzo "Doc Tony" (Fort Ann, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a pricey book [hardcover] but as I've said in other reviews, one of the ways to better know Franz Liszt in addition to the tomes written about him not the least of which is Dr. Alan Walker's monumental 3 volume biography which represents some 25 years in painstaking research, is through the eyes and hence perspectives of Liszt's Weimar students.

Hence, this diary by Carl V. Lachmund [1853-1928] and edited by Lisztian scholar Dr. Alan Walker serves to add to the Liszt literature as do the subsequently published diaries of other Liszt Weimar students, August Göllerich, Lina Schmalhausen, Amy Fay, Alexander Siloti and Arthur Friedheim. For researchers, the Carl V. Lachmund material is available in the original at the New York Public Library under the collection ID of JPB 92-1. Of note, and this from the NYPL collection itelf, [with full 'identification' contents of the entire collection [20 boxes] available online from the New York Public Library], "Lachmund was the only American [student] to ever have a testimonial letter from Liszt himself."

A word about prices! Various vendors will offer this book from time to time and the prices can vary widely sometimes exceeding the Amazon price and other times lower in price but keep in mind that when any item is ordered from an Amazon vendor [and please note, I've done plenty of business with Amazon vendors over the years generally with excellent results especially when tracking down hardcover editions which I prefer over soft cover editions although this particular book is 'only' in hardcover edition as far as I am aware], anyway, when dealing with Amazon vendors one must factor in individual vendor shipping costs as well as any possible state sales tax issues depending on your geographical location.

Back to the student diaries in general, keep in mind also that the remarks made by former Liszt students are wholly 'subjective' in nature and while they in fact, IMO anyway, add to the Liszt literature in general, comments about Liszt per se should not be interpreted as the proverbial 'last word' because it is not unlikely to have one student describe Liszt as an almost 'father figure' while another speaks of 'a taskmaster with sometimes rude criticisms' but much of this depends, again in my view and so stated therein, not necessarily "one of the master's bad moods" as quite possibly one of the student's 'bad moods' or indeed more blatant and repeated pianistic blunders!

This also addresses the matter of some folks believing Liszt merely 'gave piano lessons to those wishing to learn to play or at least play better beyond the novice level' [!] when in fact these were 'master classes' for those who knew the instrument very well and could equally and readily 'demonstrate' same not just to Liszt himself but his rather accomplished pupils as well. Sort of a built-in peer system so to speak where talent at the instrument was a 'given' albeit at the very get-go and well 'prior' to seeking out Liszt! Often, when the student began to hear the word "conservatory" coming from Liszt, well, it was time to RE-assess whether Liszt master classes was the appropriate forum for their pianistic abilities .. or lack thereof. The students themselves freely rendering such opinions and of course being rather protective of their own position in the pecking order of things. Even Weimar had its 'maximum capacity' as it were.


Doc Tony