AB III-10

Description

Albert Brussee

FRANZ LISZT IN NEDERLAND

Franz Liszt visited the Netherlands five times. In November/December 1842, he made an extensive tour through the ‘Low Countries by the Sea’ together with the famous tenor Giovanni Rubini. In 1854, he spent a week in Rotterdam on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst (Society for the Advancement of Music) and then also made a trip to Scheveningen and The Hague. Twelve years later, he visited Amsterdam to attend concerts in the Parkzaal and the Mozes en Aäron church, where some of his compositions were performed. And in 1875 and 1876, he spent days as a guest of King Willem III at Paleis Het Loo near Apeldoorn as a member of a jury judging whether talented young musicians were eligible for scholarships. About all this, hardly anything can be found in the nevertheless voluminous Liszt literature. This book fills this gap. Reading this richly illustrated, fully colour-edited monograph, one not only gets an impression of the extremely busy, multifaceted life of one of the most charismatic musicians of the romantic era, but also of musical life in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century.

REVIEWS AND PERSONAL OPINIONS

‘ (…) This book has 192 pages and, apart from its rich content, is also very attractive because of its 95 illustrations, many of which have not been published before. All illustrations are printed in full colour and, thanks to the high-quality paper, they come out at their best. Brussee found many new sources and, as far as can be verified now, gives a complete picture of what can be found about Liszt’s visits to the Netherlands. He does so with many references in footnotes that in turn refer to an extensive bibliography. Despite this thorough, scholarly approach, the book reads very pleasantly. This is partly because all quotations from mostly French letters and newspaper articles in the main text are translated, while the originals are quoted in the footnotes. (…) An index of persons complements the book, which may be considered an important life’s work by the author.’
Christo Lelie in Piano Bulletin of EPTA-Netherlands, 2024/2.

‘It was with great pleasure to read your book Franz Liszt in Nederland! I have great respect for the enormous detective work you must have done to arrive at this beautiful result. All those details! For me too, Liszt is a fascinating figure and it is then exciting to realise that he was so close to here (…). Thanks to all the wonderful illustrations and letter fragments, the history comes to life enormously. Also that of an important piece of history of 19th-century Holland, so you don’t have to be merely a Liszt fan to be enthralled by this book. And your use of language is clear and consistent, which I really appreciate. As far as I’m concerned, this book deserves a considerable readership. Congratulations!
Hans van Ham, piano teacher.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION 
© 2024 AB Music Productions & Editions, Den Haag.
With a generous summary after each chapter, in the form of a chronology
ISBN: 978-94-650114-4-8