Franz Liszt

James Gibbons HunekerProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 681K words
Chapters: 69

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Franz Liszt by James HunekerAuthor: Huneker, James, 1857-1921,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: May 21, 2012

Editor's review

This book is a public-domain electronic edition of Franz Liszt by the American music critic James Huneker, belonging to the literature of music. Huneker examines Liszt, the piano virtuoso and composer of the Romantic era, from a critic's perspective, offering judgments on Liszt's artistic career and musical style; it is suitable as supplementary reading for understanding the man and his music. The Project Gutenberg edition is the original English, free, and easy to search and excerpt. Note that the book carries the critic's personal aesthetic leanings and the limits of his era; it should not be read as a rigorous scholarly biography but rather used alongside listening to Liszt's works and other biographical sources. For music lovers it offers a portrait of Liszt as seen by a critic a century ago; for researchers it can serve as a source in the history of music criticism. It is best read with specific Liszt works at hand, listening as you read, to sense the resonance between criticism and sound.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Music lovers interested in Liszt's life and works
Students studying music history or music criticism
Readers with English reading ability who like free public-domain resources
Readers who want to understand Romantic music from a critic's perspective

Not a good fit for

Researchers seeking systematic, rigorous academic biography
Readers without English who need a Chinese translation
Readers with little interest in classical music who want only anecdotes and gossip

Reading tips

Listen to representative Liszt piano works first, then read the book's commentary alongside them.
Note the author's historical context while reading, distinguishing fact from the critic's opinions.
Read alongside other Liszt biographies to form a fuller picture.
Excerpt the book's specific judgments on works and build your own listening notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a biography of Liszt?

It is closer to a critical study of Liszt by the music critic Huneker, carrying the author's personal aesthetic judgments, and is not a rigorous scholarly biography in the modern sense. Readers can treat it as supplementary reading for understanding Liszt.

What musical background do I need to read this book?

Basic experience listening to classical music makes it smoother, but it is not strictly required. The book evaluates Liszt's works and style; if you can listen to relevant pieces while reading, your understanding will be more concrete.

Does the Project Gutenberg edition have a Chinese translation?

This entry is the original English edition with no Chinese translation. Project Gutenberg mainly provides electronic texts of public-domain works in their original language, so Chinese readers need English reading ability or must look for a translation separately.

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About the author

James Gibbons Huneker Author · American · 1857–1921

James Gibbons Huneker (1857–1921) was an American critic of art, literature, music, and drama. Born in Philadelphia, he went to Paris in his early years to study piano and later settled in New York, where he wrote reviews for The New York Sun and other periodicals over many years. His writing ranged across music, painting, and drama. His representative works include Chopin: The Man and His Music, Promenades of an Impressionist, Old Fogy: His Musical Opinions and Grotesques, Unicorns, Iconoclasts: A Book of Dramatists, Ivory, Apes and Peacocks, Franz Liszt, and Melomaniacs; eleven of his works are held in this collection. He was an important figure in introducing European modern art to American readers, and his style is perceptive and full of personality. Public information is limited, and many details of his life cannot be verified; readers may come to know his critical vision and tastes through the works listed above.