Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1979. január-június (33. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1979-06-21 / 25. szám
Thursday, June 21. 1979. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ Ä REVIEW OF ART, LITERATURE AND HISTORY — A SUPPLEMENT OF THE MAGYAR SZO The greatest bravura pianist Even some 90 ygars after the death of Franz Liszt, critical assessments of this great Hungarian musician differ so»markedly as to suggest that either a/ we know very little about him, or b/ we know so much that evidence can be found to support widely divergent opinions. There is an element of truth in each conclusion. On the one hand, information abounds concerning Liszt’s concertizing, his pedagogical methods, his manner of playing, his whereabouts, and his many amorous conquests. He left a large body of original works, and almost as many transcriptions and ar- - rangements. Yet the picture one draws from all this information is riddled with inconsistencies and incongruities. That one man could be so many things- serious artist and flamboyant showman, ardent lover and abbé, massive egotist and generous advocate of his colleague’s music - strains the imagination. It is easy to dismiss some items as fabrications propagated by an obsequious public, by disgruntled lovers, or even by Liszt himself. But enough paradoxes and puzzles remain that Liszt’s character still remains an enigma. We are told a great deal, but know very little. One thing is certain, however. Liszt was above all a master of the piano, whose revolutionary ideas about it in both composition and performance were to shape the course of keyboard history. He has been called the greatest bravura pianist of all time, whose mind concocted technical obstacles and whose fingers overcame them in a manner never before dreamed of. Not that these feats - almost always of Liszt’s own making, for at the peak of his career he programmed little outside his own compositions and transcriptions - were dispatched with effortless ease. On the contrary, Liszt’s public performances took on the form of heroic battles with the keyboard, contests from which the long-haired young performer invariably emerged unscathed and triumphant. His platform demeanor may strike us now as an inspired mixture of genuine magnetism and charlatanism, but it almost never failed to produce among audiences and critics alike a response approaching rapture. “...There were three thousand people in the audience, Glinka among them; Liszt mounted the platform and, pulling his doeskin gloves from his shapely white hands, tossed them carelessly on the floor...there was a silence as though the whole hall had been turned to stone, and Liszt, without any prelude, began the opening bars of the overture to William Tell /Liszt’s transcription/...curiosity, speculation, criticism, all were forgotten in the wonderful enchantment of his performance /a Russian concert-goer, 1842/."“...I saw Liszt’s countenance assume that agony of expression, mingled with radiant smiles of joy, which I never saw in any other human face except in the paintings of Our Savior by some of the early masters; his hands rushed over the keys, the floor on which I sat shook like a wire, and the whole audience was wrapped with sound,'when the hand and frame of the artist gave way. He fainted in the arms of the friend who was turning over the pages for him, and we bore him out in a strong fit of hysterics. The effect of this scene was really dreadful. The whole room sat breathless with fear, till Hiller came forward and announced that Liszt was already restored to consciousness and was comparatively well again.„ we both trembled like poplar leaves, and I tremble scarcely less as I write this /an English concert-goer in Paris, 1835/.*' Similar demonic powers were ascribed to Liszt in his days as a touring virtuoso. For believers, these suspicions were confirmed by his “satanic" compositions, including the “Faust Symphony”, “Dante” Sonata, and “Mephisto Waltzes." Liszt’s decision to take minor orders in the Catholic church either confounded or enhanced those fears, depending upon one’s turn of mind. He too cultivated his “devil connection”, and also adopted some of Paganini’s stage mannerisms. All in all, howeever, it is safe to say, that Liszt was impressed more by what Paganini had done than what he was. Paganini inspired terror; Liszt’s brand of deportment and keyboard wizardry conjured up frightening images of sorcery, but these were tempered by his suavete /polished up under the guidance of his mistress, Countess Marie d’Agoult/ and his dashing good looks. The impression was usuall^ one of amazement. Clara Schumann /pianist, composer, and wife of Robert/ writes: “We have heard Liszt. He can be compared to no other virtuoso. He is the only one of his kind. He arouses fright and astonishment. His attitude at the piano cannot be described - he is original..” His was a combination of dynamism, power, and. poetry caught up in an epic artistic struggle with the gods. Support the Salt II. treaty The United States Senate will make the most important foreign policy decision of this decade - whether to continue or to abandon nuclear arms control. A new Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union is at hand, after six years of negotiations by two Republican presidents and President Carter. The Senate is expected to take up the treaty within the next few weeks. A two-thirds vote - 67 senators - will be required for ratification. Opinion polls show that over 70 % of the American people favor a new nuclear arms treaty. Yet there is serious opposition to the treaty in the Senate. Opponents of SALT are making a strong effort to bring about its defeat. Without the votes of many undecided senators, the treaty will not be ratified. An equitable and verifiable SALT treaty will strengthen the national security of the United States. The alternative is no limits on numbers of nuclear strike weapons. The Senate’s action on SALT will determine for years the nature of relations between the US and the Soviet Union. Ratification would demonstrate that despite fundamental differences, both superpowers seek to avoid nuclear war and will accept rational limits on their destructive power. Rejection of this SALT treaty would increase uncertainty in Soviet-American relations, lead unnecessarily to more competition in military strength and spending, and unavoidably heighten tensions between two powerful nations. Rejection would arrest two decades of momentum toward further and more effective arms control. The United States and the Soviet Union are parties to 15 agreements since 1959. No treaty has been broken. Previous SALT talks have produced a permanent treaty banning anti-missile defenses, and a five year agreement freezing missile numbers which expired in October 1977. Write to your Senators today. Urge them to support the SALT II. Treaty. LETTER TO THE EDITOR PERRIS,CAL. I received the Cookbook entitled “The Cuisine of Hungary” and am very pleased with it. My mother taught me some Hungarian cooking but this book has such an interesting way of presenting the recipes. The history it contains of the Magyar tribes in their migrations and the innovative experiences with food is fascinating. I just couldn’t put the book down once I started paging through it. What makes it so special, we are taking a trip for the first time to Hungary for two month: to visit our relatives this summer and I learned s< much about Hungary that I was never aware of. I also received my first copy of Heritage and ar very pleased with it. Am looking forward to futui issues. Anna Kovach _ 7
