 At first Liszt did not like Friedheim's playing, though he admitted the individuality of Friedheim's style.Harold C. Schonberg asserts in his book "The Great Pianists" that another reason Liszt may have been hesitant was that Friedheim had studied with Rubinstein, of whom Liszt may not have been terribly fond.Friedheim had to play before Liszt several times before becoming accepted as a pupil in 1880.