Published on Franz Liszt Group, on July 27, 2021. If you want to know how the Story Behind series started, I give details in “Story Behind” Series #1″.
Original post:
On this little-known photograph of himself, Liszt wrote: “Schlechter Componist” (a bad composer). How ironic!
Story behind the picture:
Ok, you all know me now and you know I love this kind of challenge 🙂 The term “little-known” triggers something in me. So I had to look at the story behind the picture 🙂 And here it is.
This picture was taken in Freiburg im Breisgau in May 1881. Liszt was on his way back from Hungary (where he just visited his birthplace in Raiding) to Weimar and decided to stop in several cities where his work was performed. From April 29 to May 3, 1881, Liszt spent a few days in Freiburg im Breisgau where he attended a performance of his Christus given during the Musikfest (on April 25, a few days before, he had already attended another performance of Christus in Berlin, during a full Liszt program concert conducted by Hans von Bülow). During his stay in Freiburg, he stopped in the studio of the photographer Heinrich von Langsdorff, which was just across from the train station. I have another picture from the same collection, with the same score in the hand. But I like this one better. And yes, I totally agree with [participant*], he had a great sense of humour 🙂 Keep posting pictures, friends, and I will give you the story 🙂 (at least I will try). Although I will be away during August so I will probably catch up in September.
* someone commented: “He had a great sense of humor, something unique.”
Note: after I posted this story, someone from the group contacted me and asked for the picture I have. We had a quick conversation about the joy of being a musicologist and being able to dig into music history to find little-known pictures of this kind.