What is Franz Liszt?
[[File:Liszt at piano.jpg|thumb|right|Liszt at piano, 1886. Engraving based on an old photograph.]] '''Franz Liszt''' (born Raiding, October 22, 1811; died [[Bayreuth]], July 31, 1886<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/928/000026850/ nndb.com]</ref>) was a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] [[composer]] and [[pianist]]. Liszt (pronounced like “list”) was one of the most influential [[musician]]s of the 19 th century. He was the greatest pianist of his time and went on lots of tours through [[Europe]] where everyone filled the concert halls to hear him. He wrote a lot of music for piano. Many of his piano pieces were harder to play than anything that had been written before. In this way he developed the [[Skill|technique]] of piano playing, setting new standards for the future. In his compositions he often used new ideas which sounded very modern in his time. He was very helpful to other composers who lived at that time, helping them to become better known by conducting their works and playing some of their orchestral pieces on the piano. == Early years == Liszt’s father was an official who worked for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, the same noble family who employed the composer [[Joseph Haydn]]. When he was seven his father started to teach him the piano. He was a [[child prodigy]], and within a year or two he was already playing in concerts. He was so promising that some rich Hungarians said they would pay for his music [[education]]. In 1821 his family moved to [[Vienna]]. He had piano lessons from [[Karl Czerny|Czerny]] and [[Composition (music)|composition]] lessons from [[Antonio Salieri|Salieri]]. He soon became famous although he was still a young boy, and he met famous musicians like [[Beethoven]] and [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]]. Beethoven is supposed to have kissed him on the [[forehead]]. In 1823 his family moved again, this time to [[Paris]]. He wanted to go to the [[Conservatoire]] to study music but [[Luigi Cherubini]] would not let him in because he was a [[foreigner]] (i.e. not [[French people|French]]). So he stud