A Faust Symphony
Franz Liszt
Work background
Researched classical background
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 associated with Faust. Liszt later added a choral conclusion with tenor solo, so performances may represent different stages of the work's revision history rather than a single unchanging score.
Inspiration and creative background
Goethe's Faust supplied the three character portraits and the text of the later choral ending.
American Symphony Orchestra: Liszt Faust Symphony
Goethe character portraits and choral ending | Reviewed 2026-10-19
A listening guide
Notice how familiar Faust themes are transformed in the Mephistopheles movement.
Listening suggestions are editorial guides to the music.
Forces: Orchestra; revised version includes tenor solo and male chorus
Composition: 1854
1854 original orchestral work; choral ending added in 1857, with later revisions.
This entry describes the musical work or cycle. Composition, premiere and publication dates describe different events. Performers and recordings can be explored through the external listening search.
Also known as: Faust Symphony
Date, title and version notes
Specify orchestral-only or choral version when linking a performance.
American Symphony Orchestra: Liszt Faust Symphony
Goethe character portraits and choral ending | Reviewed 2026-10-19
IMSLP score catalogue: Faust Symphony S.108
Original and revised versions, scoring and publication metadata | Reviewed 2026-10-19
Sources for this work
American Symphony Orchestra: Liszt Faust Symphony
Goethe character portraits and choral ending | Reviewed 2026-10-19
IMSLP score catalogue: Faust Symphony S.108
Original and revised versions, scoring and publication metadata | Reviewed 2026-10-19
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