Published on Franz Liszt Group, April 26, 2021. If you want to know how the Story Behind series started, I give details in “Story Behind” Series #1″.
Original post:
So let us not worry, and look instead as it has been taught us to do, as the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, keeping complete faith in Our Father’s goodness.
Franz Liszt
Story behind:
Here are the sources: the quote is from a letter Liszt wrote to Marie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, the daughter of his partner Carolyne, from Rome in February 18, 1870. The picture was taken by Louis Held in 1885, and is part of a series of pictures Mr Held took of Liszt and his pupils in the Hofgärtnerei, his home in Weimar, where he received students attending his famous masterclasses. In the same series, there is also a famous portrait of Liszt sitting at his desk in his living-room. Today, when you visit the Liszt-Haus in Weimar, the same curtains and furnitures are still there, making the place alive. There is still his Bechstein Grand piano (although someone told me that the sound is not that great anymore as it is barely maintained, which would certainly sadden the Master if he knew about it). Amazing fact: there are not a lot of pictures in which we can see Liszt smiling. Both Louis Held and Nadar, who photographied Liszt numerous times between 1884 and 1886, succeeded in making Liszt smile 🙂
(Note: I was contacted by someone who wanted a copy of the original letter, which I happened to have, for an academic work. I like it when these posts can help others.)