Franz Liszt

Liszt organized his Faust Symphony as musical portraits of Faust, Gretchen and Mephistopheles, drawing on Goethe's drama. Themes undergo transformation between the movements; Mephistopheles distorts material already...

Liszt organized his Dante Symphony around Inferno and Purgatorio, drawing its subject directly from the Divine Comedy. The second part leads into a choral Magnificat, adding voices to the orchestra at the close. The...

Liszt's nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies draw on dance idioms and, in many pieces, existing melodies. The last additions include works built from his own motifs. Many explore the contrast between slower, flexible...