Liszt
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) — Hungarian pianist and composer who invented the modern piano recital and was the greatest virtuoso of the 19th century.
In Depth
Liszt was the first musical superstar. His piano technique was so extraordinary that audiences believed it supernatural — women fainted, fought over his cigar butts, and collected his broken piano strings as relics. He invented the solo piano recital as a concert format and performed from memory, facing the audience rather than looking at the score.
Beyond virtuosity, Liszt was a visionary composer. He invented the symphonic poem, pioneered thematic transformation, and pushed harmony toward the boundaries of tonality. His late piano works — austere, experimental, almost modernist — anticipated Debussy, Bartók, and even Schoenberg. He was also extraordinarily generous, championing younger composers including Wagner and promoting works by Berlioz, Schumann, and Grieg.
The hysteria surrounding Liszt's concerts was so intense that the poet Heinrich Heine coined the word Lisztomania to describe it — the first time a musician inspired the kind of fandom later associated with rock stars.