(August 2020) Episode 278 is FRANZ LISZT. Known as both the Greatest Pianist and Greatest Showman of his time. His technical wizardry and force on the piano secure his influential place in musical history, but I wonder whether his reputation as an entertainer serves to inflate his reputation as a composer. Or maybe that’s just my bias against Romantic-era music showing through. He was very prolific — it’s amazing he had any time left for the ladies — composing in all forms and with countless arrangements of his own and others’ works.
Favorite piece: Piano Sonata In B Minor
Favorite orchestral piece: Faust Symphony (it’s big!)
Favorite suite: Hungarian Rhapsodies (esp. #2, I prefer the orchestrated versions)
Favorite little piano piece: Ballade #1
Favorite choral work: Hungarian Coronation Mass
Compared to expectations: ↓
Opus Project 