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Franz Liszt's Love LifeCarolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein and the Hungarian Composer
It has been said that Sayn-Wittgenstein was the most influential woman in Franz Liszt's life.
Composer Richard Wagner called Carolyne "a monstrum in excessum of brain and heart...one can't be cross with her for long, only it needs Liszt's matchless temperament to stand such vivacity.. .I can't endure the everlasting racket." That sentence gives us a good clue as to the character of the Princesse Wittgenstein. The two met in 1847 and shortly afterward moved to the Villa Altenberg, an estate near Weimar where they planned to live a simple life of piety and humility. For the next 12 years they worked together in an almost churchlike atmosphere of religious solitude and during these years Liszt produced 4 major works:
Carolyne von Sayn-WittgensteinCarolyne, in the style of George Sand, Chopin's lover, smoked exceedingly strong cigars and was considered to be bossy and eccentric. She lost her Russian estates at Woronince because the Tsar took over the land and also refused her the divorce she had applied for. She was still married to Prince Sayn-Wittgenstein and the Vatican also refused to give her her freedom, believing that she was living in a sinful arrangement. She lost her social standing and neither her arrogance nor her status as a writer would ever bring that back. Liszt was also becoming, according to Carolyne, more addicted to alcohol which made her position in the affair even more uncomfortable. Liszt's DepressionBecause of the lack of social stimulus and Carolyne's demanding ways Liszt was becoming increasingly prone of bouts of depression and lack of creative energy. He said, "I am mortally sad; I can say nothing and listen to nothing. Only prayer can console me and that only now and then." Liszt's Planned WeddingAfter so many years Franz desperately wished to legalize his union with Carolyne and a wedding was planned to take place in Rome in 1861. They had been together for 14 years and it was said that the relationship had yielded 3 children. But now the Prince was dead and the way was clear for the 2 to marry legally. The Pope was now inclined to grant their wish, but several of her family members persuaded him to ask for a further postponement, which Carolyne read as 'the finger of God,' and she and Franz went their respective ways. There is no doubt that Carolyne had a profound influence on Liszt's creative life, but how much and in what ways we cannot be certain. It is true, however, that she was instrumental in pushing him forward at the times when he was lethargic and depressed, resulting in some of his finest compositions. For further reading about Liszt see Franz Liszt. SourcesLife and Liszt by Arthur Friedheim, Taplinger Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1961 Liszt by Bryce Morrison, Omnibus Press, New York, 1989
The copyright of the article Franz Liszt's Love Life in Classical Composers is owned by Anya Laurence. Permission to republish Franz Liszt's Love Life in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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