Hungarian Romantic era composer and pianist (1811–1886) whose prowess at the keyboard earned him the reputation as one of greatest virtuosos in the history of the instrument. ALS in French, signed “F. Liszt,” one page both sides, 4.75 x 8, March 10, 1881. Letter to Madame de Retz, one of his old romantic interests. In full (translated): “Tours made by artists are subject to numerous accidents. Yours suffered some delay and I didn’t know where to address my sincere thanks. I’ll put off the Marcello Rossi photograph until we get back to Vienna in early April. Since I don’t have the advantage of knowing that charming and brilliant artist, it’s not my duty to be too eager. As for the rest, his two compositions that you sent me are pleasant.” In fine condition, with light pencil remnants to top of first page, and a couple trivial corner creases.
Liszt was nearly 70 when wrote this letter to de Retz, and he knew touring well, having toured Europe as a virtuoso pianist for eight years in the 1840s, appearing in concert three or four times a week. Later in life, Liszt traveled as much as 4,000 miles a year between teaching posts and performances in Rome, Weimar and Budapest. In a matter of months after this letter was written, Liszt would take a fall down a flight of stairs, an accident that he would never fully recover from; although he continued composing and teaching, he would be plagued with ill health thereafter. Overcome with depressive moods, Liszt’s work became darker and more experimental in the early 1880s. In 1881, Liszt would compose his famous experimental work, ‘Nuages Gris,’ an unsettling and expressive piece for solo piano. In the letter, Liszt mentions Marcello Rossi, the 18-year old Viennese virtuoso violinist and minor composer. Born in 1862, Rossi was a violin prodigy: at just 13 years old, he was lauded by the press for his “divine gift.” Rossi played before King Albert of Saxony at age 16, would be named chamber-virtuoso to the Emperor Franz Josef and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. As a composer, he wrote relatively little, but he arranged a number of pieces for violin and piano. A member of the American Liszt Society identifies Madame de Retz as, Antonia (Toni) Raab, one of his pupils with whom he concertized in Retz, Austria, her home town. Retz’s poem ‘Schlaflos, Frage und Antwort’ (Sleepless - Question and Answer) inspired a Liszt nocturne known by that name.
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