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Liszt and Modern Music

Were the seeds of Heavy Metal planted by Franz Liszt? Liszt was the ultimate experimenter of his era, much like Leonardo Da Vinci. They analyzed, formulated and recorded brilliant and visionary ideas that far exceeded the limited scope of their own generation. Thus, they both fell prey to suspect and even ridicule by some of their contemporaries, being called dreamers or worse. Only the more astute could realize that the being before them was of a celestial, higher order - the ultimate genius, misunderstood by the masses.

Liszt brought to music unprecedented emotional and psychological impact that  previously never existed, paving the way for *Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Puccini and others that followed. Though Beethoven previously touched upon a heavier style with the Coriolan Overture, or Mozart with Don Giovanni, or even Boccherini's La casa del Diavolo, they never delved as deep into the brutal dark side of Man, or the devil, as did Liszt. Liszt wasn't afraid to invent menacing harmonies, of diabolical and dissonant proportions, to portray this evil phenomenon. Others simply shied away from such endeavors in fear of offending, or upsetting, the status quo. Liszt was certainly not a devil worshipper, as some suspected, he simply revealed all facets of the human experience. His era was one of instability, war and death. To turn a deaf ear, and close one's eyes, to this aspect of life is after all...pure ignorance. As a novelist can write about the evil side of mankind, like Shakespeare did in "Hamlet" or Dante in his "Divine Comedy", Liszt felt the same freedom as a composer. Liszt detested war and violence and broke the man-made shackles that prevented composers from bringing this part of reality into the light. We must remember, the ugliness that man perpetuates in life was not introduced or performed by Liszt, he merely recreated in sound our failings... to the world's shock and bewilderment. Yet, Liszt did not only show us the dark side, as his numerous religious pieces attest, yet so many overlook. His oratorios and Masses are neglected masterpieces, due primarily to prejudice.

Liszt's amazingly modern Faust and Dante symphonies, along with pieces like Prometheus, Héroïde Funèbre, Czardas Macabre and others each showcased ferocious harmonies that swelled into cataclysmic waves of sound that barraged and intimidated the frail senses of Liszt's 19th century audience. One only needs to listen to these pieces along side works of his contemporaries, while purging one's mind of all 20th century music, to feel the power of Liszt's scoring. Then one can similarly begin to understand the disdainful reaction by his pristine audience that were born and raised on the centuries old tradition of music being stately, pretty, glorious or consistently rhythmic.

Rhythmic fluctuations punctuated many of Liszt's works, and this too caused uneasiness, for the steady metronomic beat was practically set in stone by the earliest primates. Now Liszt comes along and launches his Faust Symphony and Hamlet symphonic poem in a series of very slow, yet rising and diminishing, moans that tax those with attention deficit, while intriguing the astute who can actually feel the music echo the inner cries of the piece's main character, while simultaneously peeking their curiosity as to what will happen next. And what happens next is the wild ride into the modern world of music. A world that would be deeply influenced by these radical harmonies and eventually win over the stately and traditional modes of creativity...sharply entering a symphonic world of Heavy Metal.

But Liszt's pieces aren't all heavy metal and thunder, for even amorous music previously never reached such climaxes of heartfelt ecstasy as in Liszt. He released the very soul and repressed passions of mankind. In essence he opened new doors, so we all could relate, evaluate, and appreciate the various realms of life we all share and experience. Even the sides we generally wish to conceal or ignore. Hence, the ones that can not relate to such music are either cold, inhuman cadavers or they are afraid to embrace the totality of life - warts, hidden pleasures and all. As for Liszt's portrayals of death and destruction, it's not that we should promote or succumb to evil, but we must address its existence, as even the Bible has no problem doing! As with anything in life the more we confront and study something the better we understand it, and the better we'll know how to address it, rather than ignoring it or shying away in fear. Narrow-mindedness breeds prejudice and stagnation, as the Middle Ages clearly attest. Fortunate for the Renaissance - mankind and civilization began to be reborn, and eventually flourished, all because of a thirst for knowledge and a lack of fear of the unknown.

Liszt composed Hamlet in the 1850's well over a hundred years before Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix or even Iron Butterfly. Yet, unlike modern Metal bands Liszt was not pigeonholed into writing only heavy, radical music. His vast output was perhaps the most varied ever written by a single composer. Which is why he is such an enigma. Humans tend to categorize in order to make their learning easier, but Liszt is not easy. From romance to virtuosity, heaven to hell, simplicity to profound philosophy Liszt's music embraced every facet of life, for Liszt himself was multifaceted.

HAMLET: The midi file that "hopefully" you hear playing was sequenced by Peter Parkanyi, yet I took the liberty to change the instrumentation utilizing more current synthesizer instruments to make it sound a bit more 21st Century. It must be remembered that I did not alter or add any notes. They are all as the great master wrote them, only some of the instruments are different - with a few adjustments in Peter's dynamics. It is an exercise to show just how far Liszt hurled his lance into the future. For anyone interested the original orchestration can be found at Midi Archives. The clip playing here is approximately the first half of the piece, the entire work generally runs about 14 minutes long.

Liszt's Dante Symphony, Héroïde Funèbre, Totentanz, Prometheus and many others also contain advanced soundscapes that make Liszt look like a modern time traveler stuck in an ancient civilization. I hope you enjoy your journey here into Liszt's universe, as this is only one facet of a very complex and beautifully unique diamond, one never to be buried or lost!

Liszt's Hamlet: Liszt's symphonic poem ingeniously portrays the various psychological mood swings that plague Hamlet throughout Shakespeare's intense play. At the start we can sense Hamlet's vexing thoughts and doubts, as we hear the music oscillate, aptly echoing his indecision. Then the tormented Hamlet slowly rises, only to sink back into confusion. Slowly he begins plotting his revenge. The music begins to swell, building and building, until suddenly he snaps into a violent frenzy, as we feel his mind crack into a psychotic rage. It's a grinding movement pumped with pure adrenaline. Then abruptly his rage halts... a soft delicate melody interrupts portraying Ophelia. Yet since the meek and delicate Ophelia is incapable of rising or maintaining on Hamlet's level her melody is brief and fleeting. Hamlet returns with his various strident, brooding and contemplative moods. The end draws near. He eventually releases a dark moan, a final quiver and with the last heart beat Hamlet expires. So ends a truly original, very radical masterpiece of 1858 by Franz Liszt.

- Rich DiSilvio