Episodes
Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
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2011 | 01 | Living Like A Lord | 20110725 | Lisztomania swept Europe in the early 1840s - wherever he performed his reception was hysterical. It all began in Berlin, with a sensational series of concerts in the Singakademie. The only performer in his concerts, he invented the modern recital, and became a huge star. When he left Berlin he was driven out of the city in a coach drawn by six white horses, in a stately procession, as if a reigning monarch were taking leave of his people. Donald Macleod looks at Liszt's heyday as a touring virtuoso. Donald Macleod discusses Liszt's heyday as a touring virtuoso. | |
2011 | 02 | Death And Demons | 20110726 | Liszt's father Adam took charge of his son's career once his remarkable talent had become obvious, finding teachers for him and arranging concerts. He died suddenly when Liszt was still a teenager, and a preoccupation with death appears in the young composer's music from here on in. Seeing the phenomenal Paganini perform in 1830 was a blinding flash of revelation, and he set out to become the Paganini of the piano. With Donald Macleod. Donald Macleod on the influences on Liszt's life that led to his becoming a virtuoso. | |
2011 | 03 | Self-composure (weimar, 1848-61) | 20110727 | In Weimar, Liszt experienced the most settled, productive years of his life. The large music room of the Altenburg, Liszt's home in Weimar, provided a perfect venue for the performance of some of the pieces he now focussed on. In all his activities there, Liszt was supported by his mistress and companion, Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein. Donald Macleod looks at the music of Liszt's Weimar years, including his masterpiece, the B minor sonata. Donald Macleod focuses on the works Liszt wrote while he was living in Weimar. | |
2011 | 04 | Mystic (rome) | 20110728 | Liszt grew old in Rome. He followed his mistress Carolyne there, in the hope of marrying her, but the ceremony was prevented in a complex story of intrigue and corruption. After a retreat in a monastery on the slopes of Monte Mario, the composer chose to enter the lower orders of the Catholic priesthood, which one friend described as 'an act of spiritual suicide'. Donald Macleod explores the music Liszt wrote in Rome while he grappled with several personal crises. Donald Macleod explores the music of Liszt's years in Rome. | |
2011 | 05 LAST | Whispers And Laments | 20110729 | There was a shift in Liszt's musical style in the last years of his life, from virtuosic exuberance to dissonance, silence and abandoned endings. During this time there was a rapprochement between the composer and his daughter Cosima, from whom Liszt had been estranged over her affair with Wagner. Donald Macleod explores the music of Liszt's final years, including pieces written in response to his premonition of Wagner's death, and a piece written shortly before Liszt's own death on a visit to Cosima in Bayreuth in 1885. Donald Macleod focuses on the music of Liszt's final years. | |
2015 | 01 | A Rock Star In The Country | 20150105 | 20170508 (R3) | Donald Macleod presents a rare opportunity to hear all 13 of Liszt's symphonic poems. Today: the composer moves to Weimar with his mistress Carolyne. In 1848, as revolution raged across Europe, Franz Liszt made the decision to walk away from his life as the most scandalous and brilliant piano virtuoso in the world - and settle down in the provincial German city of Weimar. Over the next twelve years he would forge a reputation as one of the most original composers of the Romantic Era - inventing a genre of composition that became known as the 'symphonic poem'. Liszt's new form of orchestral piece spun poetic or literary fables in music, evoking moods and images in its themes and harmonies, depicting heroes and villains, dramas and triumphs - a radical departure from the symphonic ideal of Beethoven and Brahms. This week, Donald Macleod presents a unique opportunity to hear all twelve of the symphonic poems Liszt created in Weimar - plus his final, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just before his own death. We begin with Liszt's move to Weimar in 1848, accompanied by his beloved mistress Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein, a Russian aristocrat. With Carolyne still married to her Russian prince, the pair courted scandal by openly living 'in sin' at their spectacular Weimar residence, the Altenberg. Meanwhile, Liszt was busily composing what would ultimately prove his most popular symphonic poem, 'Les Pr退ludes', inspired by words by Alphonse de Lamartine. Donald Macleod focuses on Liszt's 1848 move to Weimar with his mistress, Carolyne. |
2015 | 02 | Trailblazer On The Podium | 20150106 | 20170509 (R3) | Donald Macleod explores Liszt's symphonic poems. Now established in Weimar, Liszt protects his friend Wagner as he flees arrest. In 1848, as revolution raged across Europe, Franz Liszt made the decision to walk away from his life as the most scandalous and brilliant piano virtuoso in the world - and settle down in the provincial German city of Weimar. Over the next twelve years he would forge a reputation as one of the most original composers of the Romantic Era - inventing a genre of composition that became known as the 'symphonic poem'. Liszt's new form of orchestral piece spun poetic or literary fables in music, evoking moods and images in its themes and harmonies, depicting heroes and villains, dramas and triumphs - a radical departure from the symphonic ideal of Beethoven and Brahms. This week, Donald Macleod presents a unique opportunity to hear all twelve of the symphonic poems Liszt created in Weimar - plus his final, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just before his own death. As Liszt began to establish a reputation as a composer in Weimar, he also began to cultivate a reputation as an innovative and dynamic conductor. Liszt was diverted from his musical work by the travails of his friend Richard Wagner, who was fleeing arrest after inciting revolution in Dresden. Donald Macleod introduces the symphonic poems Mazeppa and Herode Funebre - both rarely played in the concert hall - as well as Liszt's take on the Orpheus myth. Donald Macleod focuses on how Liszt protected his friend Wagner as he fled arrest. |
2015 | 03 | Memories Of Home | 20150107 | 20170510 (R3) | Donald Macleod presents a rare opportunity to hear all 13 of Liszt's symphonic poems. Today: a paean to the composer's Hungarian homeland, and a pastoral idyll. In 1848, as revolution raged across Europe, Franz Liszt made the decision to walk away from his life as the most scandalous and brilliant piano virtuoso in the world - and settle down in the provincial German city of Weimar. Over the next twelve years he would forge a reputation as one of the most original composers of the Romantic Era - inventing a genre of composition that became known as the 'symphonic poem'. Liszt's new form of orchestral piece spun poetic or literary fables in music, evoking moods and images in its themes and harmonies, depicting heroes and villains, dramas and triumphs - a radical departure from the symphonic ideal of Beethoven and Brahms. This week, Donald Macleod presents a unique opportunity to hear all twelve of the symphonic poems Liszt created in Weimar - plus his final, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just before his own death. Liszt's symphonic poems - spectacular, orchestral canvases that told a story in music - revolutionised the way music was conceptualised in the mid-19th century. In 1854, with the success of his first years in Weimar still ringing in his ears, the composer sat down to put the finishing touches to his first published volume of symphonic poems. It gave him the opportunity to revise and polish his very first, longest - and now least-perfomed - attempt at the form: a pastoral idyll summing up the beauty of mountain life. Donald Macleod also introduces Liszt's hymn to his native land: Hungaria. Donald Macleod introduces a paean to Liszt's Hungarian homeland and a pastoral idyll. |
2015 | 04 | The Death Of Daniel Liszt | 20150108 | 20170511 (R3) | Donald Macleod explores Liszt's symphonic poems. Today: the composer struggles to come to terms with the tragic death of his son Daniel. In 1848, as revolution raged across Europe, Franz Liszt made the decision to walk away from his life as the most scandalous and brilliant piano virtuoso in the world - and settle down in the small German town of Weimar. Over the next twelve years he would forge a reputation as one of the most original musical creators of the Romantic Era - inventing a new genre of composition that became known as the 'symphonic poem'. Liszt's new form of orchestral piece spun poetic or literary fables in music, evoking moods and images in its themes and harmonies, depicting heroes and villains, dramas and triumphs - a radical departure from the symphonic ideal of Beethoven and Brahms. This week, Donald Macleod presents a unique opportunity to hear all twelve of the symphonic poems Liszt created in Weimar - plus his final, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just before his own death. As Liszt took stock of nearly a decade spent in Weimar, he could be justifiably proud: he had shed his reputation as a brilliant pianistic show-pony and instead shown his vast talent as a composer, creating some of his most revered works. But his personal life was a mess. He struggled to gain sanction from the Catholic church to wed his beloved Carolyne, and then his beloved son Daniel died suddenly at the age of only 20. Donald Macleod explored the tragic circumstances of an event that Liszt said changed him for ever. Donald Macleod explores the tragic death of Liszt's son Daniel. |
2015 | 05 LAST | From The Cradle To The Grave | 20150109 | 20170512 (R3) | Donald Macleod presents a rare opportunity to hear all 13 of Liszt's symphonic poems. Today: the composer leaves Weimar and the symphonic poem behind - or so it seems... In 1848, as revolution raged across Europe, Franz Liszt made the decision to walk away from his life as the most scandalous and brilliant piano virtuoso in the world - and settle down in the provincial German city of Weimar. Over the next twelve years he would forge a reputation as one of the most original composers of the Romantic Era - inventing a genre of composition that became known as the 'symphonic poem'. Liszt's new form of orchestral piece spun poetic or literary fables in music, evoking moods and images in its themes and harmonies, depicting heroes and villains, dramas and triumphs - a radical departure from the symphonic ideal of Beethoven and Brahms. This week, Donald Macleod presents a unique opportunity to hear all twelve of the symphonic poems Liszt created in Weimar - plus his final, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just before his own death. After a decade crafting a new life for himself in Weimar, it was time for Liszt to leave the city and the symphonic poem behind...or so he thought. Donald Macleod explores the thorny circumstances of Liszt's departure from Weimar - and one poignant, valedictory symphonic poem, composed many years later, just a few years before the composer's death in 1886. Donald Macleod explores the thorny circumstances of Liszt's departure from Weimar. |
2019 | 01 | The Ninth Wonder Of The World | 20190121 | Franz Liszt was the most photographed man of the 19th century and the most sculpted man aside from Napoleon - one of the most recognisable figures of his age. Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of the prolific composer and virtuoso pianist through five images of the composer. Liszt's acclaim as a child was such that he was even claimed to be a reincarnation of Mozart. In Monday's episode, Donald examines an engraving of the 9 year-old Liszt after a portrait by Ferdinand de Luttgendorf-Leinburg, using it to trace the influence of Liszt's father Adam in the promotion of his son as this child prodigy extraordinaire. 50 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli - Variation 24 Evelyne Dubourg, piano Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 Budapest Festival Orchestra Ivan Fischer, conductor Transcendental Etude No 4 'Mazeppa Lise de la Salle, piano Don Sanche (The Castle of Love): Overture Hungarian State Opera Orchestra Tamကs Pကl, conductor Mal退diction Jorge Bolet, piano London Symphony Orchestra Christus - Ressurexit Henriette Bonde-Hansen, soprano Michael Schade, tenor Andreas Schmidt, bass Iris Vermillion, alto G䀀chinger Kantorei Cracow Chamber Choir Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR Helmut Rilling, conductor Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod examines the promotion of Liszt as a child prodigy. | |
2019 | 02 | The Idol | 20190122 | Franz Liszt was the most photographed man of the 19th century and the most sculpted man aside from Napoleon - one of the most recognisable figures of his age. Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of the prolific composer and virtuoso pianist through five images of the composer. Liszt rose to become the greatest performer of his age - effectively inventing the idea of the piano recital - his playing amazing audiences across Europe. In Tuesday's episode, Donald examines the earliest photograph of Liszt we have - taken in 1843 by Herman Biow - and Henri Lehmann's portrait of the composer from four years earlier. Through these images, Donald explores the impact that Liszt's astute managing of his image had on the idea of him as a Romantic idol, and examining the various elements which went into creating the dramatic persona of Liszt the virtuoso. Grandes Etudes de Paganini No 3 'La Campanella Daniil Trifonov, piano Totentanz Sergio Tiempo, piano Orchestra de Svizzera Italiana Ion Marin, conductor El Contrabandista - Rondo Fantastique Valentina Lisitsa, piano Grand Galop Chromatique Gyorgy Cziffra, piano Cantata for Inauguration of the Beethoven Monument: I. Maestoso - Quasi Allegretto Diana Damrau, soprano J怀rg Dürmüller, tenor Georg Zeppenfeld, bass K怀lner Kantorei Cappella Coloniensis des WDR Paul Komen, clavichord Bruno Weil, conductor Soir退es de Vienne (9 Valse-Caprises after Schubert), No 6 Vladimir Horowitz, piano Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod examines how the persona of Liszt, the virtuoso, was created. | |
2019 | 03 | Liszt's Women | 20190123 | Franz Liszt was the most photographed man of the 19th century and the most sculpted man aside from Napoleon - one of the most recognisable figures of his age. Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of the prolific composer and virtuoso pianist through five images of the composer. On his deathbed, Liszt's father Adam, warned his 15-year-old son about being dominated by women. In Wednesday's episode, Donald explores Josef Danhauser's painting of 1840 immortalising `Liszt at the piano`, examining how his father's warning became a prophecy which would characterise his son's relationships with women throughout his life. Liebestraum No 3 (Nocturne) Peter Szokolay, piano Ann退es de p耀lerinage - Premi耀re ann退e: Suisse: 2. Au lac de Wallenstadt Lazar Berman, piano A Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy: 1. Inferno Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra Yuri Ahronovitch, conductor Harmonies po退tiques et religieuses: Cantique d'amour Alfred Brendel, piano Orpheus Berlin Philharmonic Zubin Mehta, conductor Wieder m怀cht' ich dir begegnen Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, tenor Daniel Barenboim, piano Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales. Donald Macleod examines Liszt's complicated relationships with women. | |
2019 | 04 | Haunted, By Wagner | 20190124 | Franz Liszt was the most photographed man of the 19th century and the most sculpted man aside from Napoleon - one of the most recognisable figures of his age. Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of the prolific composer and virtuoso pianist through five images of the composer. Liszt's admiration for Wagner forged a friendship between two of the biggest musical personalities of the 19th Century. In Thursday's episode, Donald examines how this relationship cast a shadow over Liszt's own ability to compose and how personal events helped him to free himself from this shadow, in the process assessing a photograph from 1865 of Liszt, posing with his daughter Cosima and Hans von Bülow. Richard Wagner (arr. Franz Liszt) Tannh䀀user: Choeur des P耀lerins(excerpt) Tanguy de Williencourt, piano Prometheus London Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Georg Solti, conductor A Faust Symphony: III. Mephistopheles Vinson Cole, tenor Choir and Orchestra of Dresden State Opera Giuseppi Sinopoli, conductor In Liebeslust Matthew Polenzani, tenor Julius Drake, piano The Legend of St Elizabeth: Chorus of the Angels Choir of the Ameisenkinder of the Goethe Gymnasium, Weimar Chorus of Hungarian Radio Staatskapelle Weimar Carl St. Clair, conductor At the Grave of Richard Wagner Kronos Quartet Marcella DeCray, harp Aki Takahashi, piano Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores Franz Liszt's friendship with Richard Wagner. | |
2019 | 05 LAST | Liszt's 'vie Trifurquee' | 20190125 | Franz Liszt was the most photographed man of the 19th century and the most sculpted man aside from Napoleon - one of the most recognisable figures of his age. Donald Macleod delves into the life and work of the prolific composer and virtuoso pianist through five images of the composer. In the final episode of the week, Donald examines a photograph of Liszt taken by Ferencz K zmata in Budapest in 1873, noting how in later life, the promoted image of the composer changed to that of a distinguished cleric, a spiritual dreamer in touch with the sages. Yet in this period, Liszt was more troubled than in any other part of his life. Donald explores the lengths he went to, to try and maintain a balance in his life - a period when he lived a 'threefold existence' - splitting his time between Rome, Weimar and Budapest and travelling over 4000 miles a year. Legend of St Francis of Assisi: St Francis preaches to the birds Wilhelm Kempff, piano Via Crucis (Cruxis): Station VI Marie-Claire Alain, organ Ensemble Vocal Audite Nova de Paris Jean Sourisse, conductor Hungarian Rhapsody No 9 Louis Kentner, piano Nuages Gris Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano Mephisto Waltz No 2 Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Kurt Masur, conductor Ann退es de p耀lerinage: I - Suisse: IV. Au bord d'une source Aldo Ciccolini, piano Richard Wagner (arr. Franz Liszt) Tristan und Isolde: Isoldes Liebstod Vladimir Horowitz, piano Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores what Liszt called his 'threefold existence. | |
2022 | 01 | Recollections | 20220117 | 20230821 (R3) | Donald Macleod recounts Liszt's childhood in the Hungarian village of Raiding and the story of his youthful, rural upbringing. In later life Liszt made several visits to Raiding and recalled a happy childhood there noting the influence of his musical father and of the travelling folk musicians that passed through his village. Today's programme recounts Liszt's first encounter with the piano, his emerging precocious musical talent, up to his departure to the bright lights of Vienna to begin a life as a travelling virtuoso. Hungarian Rhapsody No 8 in F sharp minor Roberto Szidon, piano Die Drei Zigeuner Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone Daniel Barenboim, piano Symphonic Poem: From the Cradle to the Grave BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda, conductor Fantasy on Motifs from Beethoven's 'Ruinen von Athen Michel Beroff, piano Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Kurt Masur, conductor Variation on a Theme of Diabelli Leslie Howard, piano Hungarian Rhapsody No 10 in E - 'Preludio Georges Cziffra, piano Franz Liszt's Hungarian childhood in Raiding. |
2022 | 02 | Flood | 20220118 | 20230822 (R3) | After several years of absence from Hungary, Liszt is taken aback by news of the disastrous floods in Pest in 1838. His thoughts turn to the country of his birth and prompt him to take action to support his native countrymen. Donald Macleod continues his story of Liszt's relationship with Hungary and recounts how thoughts of his homeland inspired a new sequence of works which will eventually become the Hungarian Rhapsodies. Hungarian Rhapsody No 5 in E minor 'Heroide-elegiaque Nelson Freire, piano Six Grandes Etudes de Paganini - No 6 'La Campanella Alice Sara Ott, piano Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Themes Louis Lortie, piano Residentie Orchestra The Hague George Pehlivanian, conductor Two Hungarian Recruiting Dances by Laszlo Fay and Janos Bihari 'Zum Andenken Leslie Howard, piano Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 in C sharp minor (arr.orchestra) Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy, conductor Liszt is inspired to action after news of a natural disaster in his homeland, Hungary. |
2022 | 03 | Uprising | 20220119 | 20230823 (R3) | Europe in the 1840s saw a potent wave of nationalism with uprisings breaking out in many of the continent's major cities as people campaigned against old feudal rule and the right to self-determination. As Donald Macleod relates, the uprising in Hungary was a prime example and it required a reaction and a response from the country's most famous son, Franz Liszt, both personally and musically. Hungarian Rhapsody No 15 'Rakoczy March John Ogdon, piano Arbeiterchor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone Netherlands Chamber Choir Rudolf Jansen, piano Uwe Gronostay, conductor Symphonic Poem - 'Hungaria London Philharmonic Orchestra Bernard Haitink, conductor Liebestraum No 1 'Hohe Lieb Daniel Barenboim, piano Magyarok Istene' (version for organ) Olivier Vernet (organ) Hungarian costume and a jewel-encrusted sword. With Donald Macleod. |
2022 | 04 | Charitas | 20220120 | 20230824 (R3) | It is indicative of Liszt's nature that he was so giving and generous, both with his money and his time. Profoundly religious, he believed absolutely in what he referred to as 'Genie oblige' - the obligation of genius. One of his favourite images was of the saint St Francis of Padua, captured in a miraculous image brandishing his motto `Charitas`, which prompted Liszt to depict him in music. Donald Macleod continues his story of Liszt and Hungary with a focus on his benevolent response to the country of his birth and on how he was prevailed upon to take a part in shaping the course of the nation's future, in particular by giving weight to its music. 2 L退gendes - No 2 'St Francois de Paule marchant sur les flots Frederik Ullen, piano Hungarian Coronation Mass - II. 'Gloria Szecsody Iren, soprano Tiszay Magda, alto Jozsef Simandy, tenor Andras Farago, bass Kronungskirche Budapest Orchestra and Chorus Janos Ferencsik, conductor Hungarian Rhapsody No 9 in E flat 'Pesther Carnival - II. Finale presto Takacs Piano Trio Piano Concerto No 2 in A Boris Berezovsky, piano Philharmonia Orchestra Hugh Wolff, conductor Hungarian Rhapsody No 6 in D flat Martha Argerich, piano Liszt, charity and the obligation of genius. |
2022 | 05 LAST | Je Suis Hongrois | 20220121 | 20230825 (R3) | Donald Macleod recounts Liszt's final years, and the period when the elderly composer spent much time travelling between his homes in Rome, Weimar and Budapest, journeying hundreds of miles by train to fulfil his many obligations. Tired and often unfairly criticised by even those closest to him, his final days were tragic. When he died an international argument ensued as to which country held the best claim to his final resting place. Hungarian Rhapsody No 4 in D minor (orchestral arrangement) Budapest Festival Orchestra Ivan Fischer, conductor Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth - Part 2 'Death of Elisabeth' 'Chorus of Angels' Melanie Diener, soprano Solisten des MDR Kinderchores Chor 'Die Ameisenkinder' des Goethegymnasiums Weimar Chor des Ungarischen Rundfunks Staatskapelle Weimar Carl St Clair, conductor Hungarian Portraits - 'Mosonyi Grabgeleit Alfred Brendel, piano Cardas Macabre (arr. for Hungarian folk instruments) Orchestra of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Istvan Albert/Laszlo Berki, leaders Seven Sacramenta - Responsories V. 'Extreme unctio Male Chorus of the Hungarian Army Zsuzsa Elekes, organ Istvan Zambo, conductor Hungarian Rhapsody No 11 in A minor Roberto Szidon, piano Liszt's final years and the conflict over his burial. |