Happy Birthday Franz Liszt!

Biography

Franz Liszt was born on October 22, 1811, a little over 200 years ago in a country called Hungary. His father, Adam, was a musician in service to a Prince, so Franz was introduced to many famous composers at a young age.

When he grew up, he saw Niccolo Paganini play violin, and was inspired to compose music that sounded like Paganini, and imitate his style. Liszt worked hard and practiced until he could play piano like no other. He was a virtuoso! He became friends with Clara Schumann and her husband composer Robert Schumann, and travelled all over Europe playing and composing music.

Here is a link to one of Franz Liszt’s most famous pieces Hungarian Rhapsody #2. (Parents: This is a very long piece. The flashiest playing starts around 5:07, and the most recognizable part of the theme is around 2:30. This is the portion that Tom plays in the well-known Tom and Jerry cartoon, the Cat Concerto).

Some questions you might also ask:

Who has inspired me to try something new?

Whose music do I prefer, Clara Schumann’s, or Franz Liszt’s?

Vocabulary:

Inspire: If someone inspires you, they make you want to be just like them.

Virtuoso: Someone is very, very good at playing an instrument–so good, that only a very few people can compare.

Happy Birthday, Clara Schumann!

For Parents:

This is the first of a series of enrichment posts about music history. Each one appears on a famous composer’s birthday and is tied to a “composer trading card” home activity that your child will receive during his or her lesson. I ask that you read the short composer biography that will be posted to the blog and spend a bit of time exploring the composer and his or her music with your child.  You and your child can work to fill in the blanks on the back of the card, and you are welcome to bring it to the next lesson to discuss as well.

Biography:

Clara Schumann was born on September 13, 1819–that’s almost two hundred years ago today, long before mom and dad, or even grandma and grandpa, were born. She was born in a place called Leipzig, in the country of Germany. In those days, it was unusual for women to play music in public or write their own, but Clara did both. She was famous as one of the best pianists in the world.

When she grew up, she married Robert Schumann, who was another famous composer. They met when she was only nine years old. She arranged and played his music as well as her own, and was friends with composers Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms as well.

Here is a short video of two musicians playing a piece that Clara wrote: Romance.  Do you like this piece? How does it make you feel?

Some questions you might also ask:

When/where was I born?

What are the names of other famous women composers alive today?

Vocabulary:

Composer: Someone who writes their own music. When you use the Wunderkeys magnets to make patterns to play, you too are a composer!