Liszt the Letter Writer: The Question of the Virtuoso's Complex in His Epistolary Style

Bourrel, Christiane (2025) Liszt the Letter Writer: The Question of the Virtuoso's Complex in His Epistolary Style. STUDIA MUSICOLOGICA: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY OF THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 66 (1-2). pp. 47-57. ISSN 1788-6244

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Abstract

Liszt, who wrote thousands of letters, repeatedly expresses a feeling of inferiority in his epistolary writing. How to explain this paradox? Liszt's immersion in French language and culture began at 12, through self-directed study. As to letter writing, his experience came from frequenting the Parisian intelligentsia and the influence from his mistresses, highly cultivated women. He likely consulted the numerous letter-writing manuals published at that time. The analysis of his autographs shows that Liszt fully complies with the standards set by these educational books, which also express social codes. Liszt, of humble origins, sought acceptance into the cultural aristocracy. Being a virtuoso musician, he lamented not being able to achieve the same level of excellency when comparing himself to models from the Great Century, such as Madame de Sévigné. From the perspective of a twenty-first century reader, we can value other qualities: his clear and concise style resonates with the aesthetics of the Age of Enlightenment, not forgetting his virtuosity when playing with the polite expressions and the flexibility of his style adapted to each one of his recipients. As his modern-day audience, we have the opportunity to rehabilitate him in his own eyes.

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