HE COULD TICKLE MY IVORIES

 

You ain't nobody's baby Beiber.  Bye, Bye, Bye N*SYNC. Nobody wants to be wanted by you David Cassidy. Get back to where you once belonged Beatles. Music's first heartthrob was Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt. Liszt had the looks and the talent to whip audiences into a frenzy, without radio, records, television or the internet. That frenzy was called Lisztomania.

Franz Liszt was arguably the world's first music star. He inspired Lisztomania, a heightened feeling of elation experienced by audiences when viewing Liszt perform. Liszt was a prolific composer any well-respected pianist amongst his peers. He lived a long life but gave up performing in his later years. But the phenomenon of a musical performer inciting ecstasy amongst audiences has never left human culture.

Born in Hungary October 22, 1811, Liszt was a musical prodigy. His father worked as a land steward for a member of the Hungarian aristocracy. Liszt's father played multiple instruments and knew Haydn and Beethoven. Liszt began piano lessons at age 7 and composed music by age 11. He toured Europe at the age of 8. Liszt took lessons in composing from Antonio Salieri. His father gave up his land steward job to tour further with Liszt.

When his father died the family used Liszt's concert earnings to move to Paris. Liszt continued to perform until he fell ill. His illness caused a personal malaise that left Liszt unsure he wanted to continue with music. Eventually Liszt recovered. During his musical career he befriended intellectuals of his day - especially composers like Chopin, Wagner, Berlioz, and Clara Schumann.

Liszt had an affair with Marie d'Agoult, the wife of a French Calvary officer. The pair fled to Geneva to escape scandal. The couple had two daughters and a son. Eventually Marie returned to Paris with their children. The couple separated in 1844, but Liszt remained close with his children.

Liszt was handsome and gave powerful performances. He performed for charity and was considered a musician for the public. Past composers were often sponsored by wealthy patrons and performed for royalty and their courts. Perhaps his good looks and public reputation mixed together created the frenzies that surrounded Liszt's performances. In 1844 German writer Heinrich Heine coined the term Lisztomania. Heine meant mania more as a term of mental illness, and considered Lisztomania to be a contagious medical condition.

Fans reacted to Liszt's performances by falling into a "mystical ecstasy" when hearing him play. Fans wore cameos featuring his portraits and tried to obtain locks of his hair. Anyone lucky enough to come by one of his piano strings wore the string around their wrist as a bracelet. One fan encased Liszt's discarded cigar stump in a locket. These were not bell-bottom clad 70s teens ga-ga over Andy Gibb. These were adults without television, radio, film or internet, and Liszt did not have a PR team.

Lisztomania eventually wore off as time went on and other composers became popular. Liszt continued to compose over a six decade long career. He began suffering malaise again around 1877 and began forming performing less than before. In 1881 a fall down some stairs left Liszt bedridden. Liszt died in 1886 at the age of 74. The mania surrounding Liszt would repeat itself again and again with teen Idols such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis and The Beatles. But Liszt, performer for the people, started it all.

SOURCES :

Franz Liszt. Wikipedia.

Lisztomania. Wikipedia.

FURTHER MEDIA ~

PODCASTS :

Frey, Holly / Wilson, Tracy V., hosts. "Lisztomania." Stuff You Missed In History Class, iheartradio, 20 September 2015.