Beskrivelse
The book “Liszt” is an excellent biography of Franz Liszt, describing his life in detail and explaining historical circumstances very well. This book is more than a biography. It contains the biography itself, describes Liszt’s technique and teaching, explains the musical language, lists and describes all of his works by using excerpts from the pieces in separate chapters. Especially for person with musical knowledge this is a highly valuable book. However, even for non-musicians this book is worth to read. Derek Watson does a terrific job in explaining the historical circumstances and complex relationships Liszt was involved in. There are so many important historical and political occurrences necessary to mention that it is not the author’s fault that sometimes the book gets confusing. There are passages so full of historical facts, that the reader has to stop and read the passage again. Interesting are hundreds of excerpts from letters between Liszt and friends or between people writing about Liszt. This and the incredible amount of historical detail show how much work the author put in this book. He uses excerpts from his work to explain music theory and show the unique about his harmony and technique. Nevertheless, people who are interested in music will like it and know the whole truth about Liszt’s mysterious life. This book is highly valuable for everybody interested in music or great composers. The book is obviously written for people with musical knowledge and interest in classical music and music theory. Liszt is a classic example of a musician at that time since he experienced everything an artist is confronted with: Tremendous success or failure, dislike of the work by others, a risky lifestyle and the concern about money.
