FRANZ LISZT · EIN EUROPÄER IN WEIMAR - Klassik Stiftung Weimar

June 24 until
October 31, 2011
Franz Liszt
A European in Weimar
Thuringian State Exhibition
Thuringian State Exhibition
Schiller Museum
Palace Museum Weimar

Now I like to think first of Weimar, my lodestar,
whose benevolent rays shed light on my winding
road, […] of Weimar, the Fatherland of the ideal.
Liszt to Arch Grand Duke Carl Alexander, 1846
On the occasion of the composer’s 200th birthday,
Weimar invites you to visit the 2011 state exhibition:
Franz Liszt
A European in Weimar
The exhibition focuses on the European dimensions
of the personality, the composer and the interpreter
as well as the artistic projects realised in Weimar.
Liszt’s right hand, replica by unknown artist, probably around 1840

Liszt’s Hungarian passport, 1874
Franz Liszt, statuette by Károly Dosnyay, 1840
And because I showed myself as I was: an enthusiastic
child, a firm believer, in a word everything one
is when one is 18 […], because I did not know how
to play comedy, I gained the reputation – of being
an actor.
Liszt, Reisebriefe eines Baccalaureus der Tonkunst
(Travelogues by a Baccalaureate of Musical Art), 1837
The first part of the exhibition in the Schiller Museum follows
the stages of Liszt’s life from the multicultural climate of the
Habsburg monarchy via Paris, Switzerland, Italy and the virtuoso
tours to Weimar, where most of his major compositions were
written over a period of little more than ten years. These stages are
presented in the form of a pilgrimage with Weimar as the destination
and climax. The exhibition documents not only Liszt’s work
and compositions, but also his significance in Europe’s history of
music and thought.
As a pianist, Liszt’s concert tours in the late 1830s and early
1840s took him all over Europe – from Paris to Constantinople,
from Milan to St. Petersburg. He came to Weimar quite early, where
he was appointed the court’s music director extraor dinaire in 1842.
In Berlin, Liszt triggered an unparalleled “Lisztomania”, the effects

City Palace, Ballroom, about 1830
Liszt knows no rules, no form, no regulations,
he makes them all himself! The bizarre becomes
brilliant, the alienatory a condition for living.
M. G. Saphir about Liszt, 1838
of which inspired Ken Russell to make his film of that name. Half
Europe lay at Liszt’s feet. He was the idol of an entire generation.
The public engaged in a lively trade in devotional objects ranging
from medals to alabaster busts, from Liszt portraits to album leaves.
The exhibition displays precious autographs from the world’s
largest Liszt collection held by the Goethe and Schiller Archive
alongside Lisztiana from the collections in the Duchess Anna Amalia
Library and the museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. The
range of exhibits, supplemented by items borrowed from Germany
and abroad, covers items personally used by Liszt, contemporary
paintings and drawings, artworks, concert programmes and first
editions of his works.

Liszt in the concert hall, after a drawing by Theodor Hosemann, 1842
Liszt’s grand piano from the company “Boisselot & fils”, Marseille 1846
We had never heard anything like it in our lives,
never such a passionate, brilliant and demonic
temperament, one minute lashing like a whirlwind,
the next flowing in cascades of beauty and grace.
Liszt’s playing was absolutely overwhelming […]
W. Stasov, about a concert in St. Petersburg, 1842
The second part of the exhibition in the Palace Museum is titled
Piano Cosmos and traces the technical development, tonal aesthe tics
and cultural history of the piano in Liszt’s era. It deals with the role
of piano music in 19th century salons and concert halls, the interdependence
of piano making and compositional techniques, and
the instrument’s significance for the educational ideals of that time.
The Weimar instruments restored with the support of the Federal
Cultural Foundation will be seen and heard for the first time in this
context.
The exhibition focuses on the models by piano makers Graf
(Vienna), Streicher
(Vienna) and Erard (Paris/London), all played
by the composer himself. One key feature is the especially reconstructed
grand piano by the Marseille piano makers Boisselot & fils;
Liszt used it not only for composing but also as a travelling piano.

Letter of honorary citizenship of the royal city of Weimar awarded to Franz Liszt, 1860
Believe me that I am not chasing after orders,
or praise, or awards, or newspaper articles […]
My sole ambition as a musician was and always
will be to cast a spear into the infinite space of
the future.
Liszt to Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein, 1874
Another highlight is the overzized walk-through grand piano in the
palace courtyard. Inside the grand piano, visitors can hear and feel
the vibrations produced when various strings are struck from the
outside. This direct physical and tonal experience will open up the
topic of the exhibition to children in particular.
We also recommend a visit to Altenburg, Liszt’s home in Weimar
from 1849 to 1861, and to Liszt’s Home, used by Liszt as a summer
residence between 1869 and 1886.
Liszt at the piano,
caricatures by János Jankó, 1873

Piano Cosmos
The world of sound created by the piano in the 19th century is incredibly
varied. Every piano maker has his own idea of the perfect tone. And the
views of the great composers and interpreters on the sound of the piano
differ greatly.
The instruments belonging to the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the
Beetz collection and the Greifenberger Institute are displayed
in the Palace Museum and invite visitors to make a unique tour
of discovery: The Piano Cosmos becomes a living organism.
Selected instruments are presented and played with reference to
the piano maker’s craft of that time. Along with regular presentations
by students of The Liszt School of Music Weimar, Liszt’s
anniversary year 2011 will be marked by many other concerts:
www.liszt-2011.de
Erard grand piano, Paris 1811

Pla
De
Goetheplatz
Herderplatz
Schiller Museum
Market
Schillerstraße 12
Schiller’s Home
Frauenplan
Goethe’s Home
Liszt’s Home
Park
Cave
Marienstraße 17
Historical Cemetery

Jenaer Straße 3
Altenburg
Palace Museum
Burgplatz 4
City Palace
Duchess
Anna Amalia
Library
tz der
mokratie
Park on the Ilm river
Liszt Monument
100 m

Franz Liszt · A European in Weimar
June 24 until October 31, 2011
Schiller Museum & Palace Museum Weimar
Tues–Sun 10 am–6 pm adults 8 € / reduced 6 € / pupils 3 €
Free entrance for children and young people under 16 years of age
and holders of the ThüringenCard
Cultural Programme
Fri & Sat 3 pm, Sun 1 pm | Tour of Palace Museum with music (German)
On request | Guided Tours in English through Schiller-Museum,
Palace Museum Weimar and Liszt’s Home
Fri 2–6 pm, Sat 10 am – 6 pm, Sun 10 am–2 pm | Events for children and
families in the palace courtyard
Individual | Tours with audio guide in English and German
Kultur-Ticket-Spezial (culture ticket special)
Travel with the Deutsche Bahn “Kultur-Ticket-Spezial” (culture ticket
special) for only 39€ (2nd class) and 59 € (1st class) per person to the
exhibition and back in one day. Information at www.bahn.de/kultur
Combi ticket for State Exhibition & Liszt’s Home
adults 10 € / reduced 7 € / pupils 3,50 €
Holders of the Liszt combi ticket can pay one visit each to the
exhibitions in the Schiller and Palace Museum and to Liszt’s Home.
Liszt’s Home with permanent exhibition and living areas
Tues–Sun 10 am–6 pm (single or combi ticket)
Altenburg with exhibition about the Allgemeine Deutsche Musikverein *
Tues–Sun 1–3 pm (admission free) *General German Music Society
Visitor Information
Tel +49 (0) 36 43 | 545-400 · Fax +49 (0) 36 43 | 41 98 16
info@klassik-stiftung.de · www.klassik-stiftung.de/liszt
Mobility Partner
Project Partners
Media Partners
Stadtwerke Weimar
Stadtversorgungs-GmbH
Möbelspedition
Staupendahl Weimar
Cover picture: Portrait of Franz Liszt | Ary Scheffer, 1837–39
www.klassik-stiftung.de/liszt