Adam List

Adam Liszt (List) (born December 16, 1776 in Nemesvölgy, Kingdom of Hungary , today Edelstal , Burgenland , Austria , † August 28, 1827 in Boulogne-sur-Mer , France ) was a Hungarian civil servant, musician and father of the composer and pianist Franz Liszt . He was born as the second child of Georg Adam List and Barbara Schlesak . These came from Ragendorf (today Rajka , Hungary ) and Karlburg (today Rusovce , Slovakia ).

Life

As a teenager Adam played the piano and cello in the Eszterházy Summer Orchestra under the direction of Joseph Haydn . After attending the Catholic grammar school in Pressburg , Adam entered, in accordance with his mother's wishes, in September 1795 as a novice in a monastery of the Franciscan order in Malacky . Because of his unstable and changeable nature , he was released from the monastery on July 29, 1797 and enrolled at the University of Pressburg as a student of philosophy at the beginning of the winter semester 1797/98 . Since he lacked funds, he broke off his studies and took up a job with Prince Esterházy on January 1, 1798, and became an employee of the estate in Forchtenau (today Forchtenstein ).

Franz Liszt memorial plaque at the parish and pilgrimage church Unterfrauenhaid , where Adam Liszt was also married

Adam Liszt tried to get a transfer to Eisenstadt and stated in his request that he was ready: to play the organ, violin and , if necessary, cello, sing bass in the church choir and also beat the timpani in the orchestra. Mr. v. Give Haydn his oral testimony. In 1805 Adam Liszt was transferred to Eisenstadt, where he worked at the court. Occasionally he also played as the second cellist in the orchestra, which was then directed by Johann Nepomuk Hummel . He also played under Cherubini and Beethoven , who conducted the world premiere of the Mass in C major here on September 13, 1807 .

When there was a vacant position as a shepherd's accounting officer in Raiding in autumn 1808 , he was transferred there at his own request and was responsible for 50,000 sheep. In 1810 he met Anna Lager, whom he married on January 11, 1811 in the community of Unterfrauenhaid . On October 22nd, 1811, his son Franz (the couple's only child) was born in the village of Raiding in Burgenland .

Wooden tombstone for Adam Liszt, in the Boulogne-sur-Mer cemetery

Adam Liszt often gave chamber concerts in his house in Raiding and recognized his son's musical talent early on and gave him his first lessons. In October 1820, at the age of nine, his son performed a piano concerto in E flat major by Ferdinand Ries and his own improvisation for the first time in a concert with Baron von Braun in Ödenburg .

Educator of Franz Liszt

Adam Liszt, who recognized his son's extraordinary talent more and more, now did everything in his power to “shape” his son and, like Leopold Mozart , became a strict music educator. He arranged for his son to be trained in Vienna and then settled in Paris with his wife and son in December 1823. Franz Liszt soon became famous as “petit Litz” and was placed on the same level as the child prodigy Mozart . In the years 1824 to 1827 Adam Liszt traveled with his “Wunderknaben” several times to England, where Franz gave concerts at Windsor Castle and was hailed there as “Master Liszt”. Together they also toured the French provinces and Switzerland. On a concert tour in England, Adam Liszt fell ill and (together with his son) looked for relaxation in Boulogne-sur-Mer . Adam Liszt died there when Franz was only 15 years old.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Quoted from Óváry: Ferenc Liszt , p. 70.