--- product_id: 114310813 title: "Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847" price: "€ 54.80" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/114310813-franz-liszt-volume-1-the-virtuoso-years-1811-1847 store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847 **Price:** € 54.80 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847 - **How much does it cost?** € 54.80 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/114310813-franz-liszt-volume-1-the-virtuoso-years-1811-1847) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Franz Liszt--child prodigy, virtuoso pianist, co-founder with Chopin and Schumann of the Romantic movement in music--has been the subject of literally hundreds of biographies, but it is only in the last few decades that the importance of Liszt the composer, as opposed to Liszt the Romantic hero, has been recognized. This new perspective has created the need for a fresh, full-scale approach, biographical and critical, to the evaluation of the man and his music. For more than ten years Alan Walker, a leading authority on nineteenth-century music and the author of important studies of Chopin and Schumann, has traveled throughout Europe discovering unpublished material in museums and private collections, in the parish registries of tiny villages in Austria and Hungary, and in major archives in Weimar and Budapest, seeking out new information and corroborating or correcting the old. He has left virtually no source unexamined--from the hundreds of contemporary biographies (many of them more fiction than fact) to the scores of memoirs, reminisces, and diaries of his pupils and disciples (the list of his students from his Weimar masterclasses reads like a Burke's Peerage of pianists). Dr. Walker's efforts have culminated in a study that will stand as definitive for years to come. A feat of impeccable scholarship, it also displays a strong and compelling narrative impulse and a profound understanding of the complicated man Liszt was. In this, the first of three volumes, Dr. Walker examines in greater detail than has ever before been amassed Liszt's family background and his early years. We see "Franzi," a deeply religious and mystical child, whose extraordinary musical gifts lead to studies with the great Carl Czerny in Vienna and propel him into overnight fame in Paris--his youthful opera, Don Sanche , performed when he is fourteen--and in a disorderly and impulsive way of life by the time he is sixteen . . . We see Liszt drifting into obscurity after a nervous breakdown at the age of seventeen, then hearing Paganini for the first time and being so fired by the violinist's amazing technique that he sets for himself a titanic program of work, his aim no less than to create an entirely new repertoire for the piano....We see him, after years if successful touring, returning triumphantly to Hungary, his homeland, and publishing in the same year his "Transcendental" and "Paganini" studies. the signposts of his astonishing technical breakthrough....Finally, we see Liszt at the height of his artistic powers, giving well over a thousand concerts across Europe and Russia during the years 1839-47: "inventing" the modern piano recital, playing entire programs from memory, performing the complete contemporary piano repertoire, breaking down the barriers that had traditionally separated performing artists from their "social superiors," fostering the Romantic view of the artist as superior bring, because divinely gifted . . . until--his colossal career virtually impossible to sustain--he gives his last paid performance at the age of thirty-five . . . Unparalleled in its completeness, its soundness of documentation, and in the quality of its writing, The Virtuoso Years is the first volume of what will unquestionably be the most important biography of Franz Liszt in English or any other language. Review: Great book - Fascinating, exhaustively researched, don't need to be a pianist to appreciate this book. One of the best books I have ever read. I bought volumes I and II because they were available used. Review: Alan Walker spoils you for any other biography. - The other reviews here will give you the details of why Walker is so good. I’ll just add, as a musician and artist, Walker can integrate musical knowledge, detail of environment and incredibly accurate factual information and come out with a feeling you’ve just seen the best movie ever. I found myself sharing story after story in his Chopin biography with friends. I never read “all” the books of one author....I’ve read three Walker books so far, starting with Chopin...can’t get enough. AND, each bio integrates with others....just amazing. So grateful for this quality of writing. I feel like I’m getting a fabulous musical education as well as a good historical context. If you are not a musician...all the better....you are in for a treat. And the scholars will be challenged as well. Walker can make the esoteric completely accessible. READ THE NOTES at the end of chapters; fabulous gossip in them. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #480,080 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #273 in Music History & Criticism (Kindle Store) #364 in Biographies of Composers & Musicians #864 in Musical Genres eBooks | ## Images ![Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81n7GOZOwQL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book *by D***N on November 5, 2014* Fascinating, exhaustively researched, don't need to be a pianist to appreciate this book. One of the best books I have ever read. I bought volumes I and II because they were available used. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Alan Walker spoils you for any other biography. *by R***S on April 15, 2020* The other reviews here will give you the details of why Walker is so good. I’ll just add, as a musician and artist, Walker can integrate musical knowledge, detail of environment and incredibly accurate factual information and come out with a feeling you’ve just seen the best movie ever. I found myself sharing story after story in his Chopin biography with friends. I never read “all” the books of one author....I’ve read three Walker books so far, starting with Chopin...can’t get enough. AND, each bio integrates with others....just amazing. So grateful for this quality of writing. I feel like I’m getting a fabulous musical education as well as a good historical context. If you are not a musician...all the better....you are in for a treat. And the scholars will be challenged as well. Walker can make the esoteric completely accessible. READ THE NOTES at the end of chapters; fabulous gossip in them. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Four Stars *by G***A on April 2, 2015* Great book, too much facts. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/114310813-franz-liszt-volume-1-the-virtuoso-years-1811-1847](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/114310813-franz-liszt-volume-1-the-virtuoso-years-1811-1847) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-07-29*