Frank Litzt Classical Composer Essay, Research Paper

Franz Liszt was one of many classical composers. In some

ways, he can be compared to a modern rock and roll star. Franz

Liszt was born in Raiding, Hungary, on October 22, 1811. Much

like Mozart, he was a very great piano player at a very young

age. Liszt composed an opera called Don Sancho at the age of

fourteen. Professionals of Liszt’s time thought that he was only

a genius with the piano, which was not enough to give his ideas

the great recognition they deserved. Many people thought that

Liszt was “a mover and a shaker, a rebel, chased women, and had

much talent and personality.”

He had invented the solo recital. When Liszt had a concert,

he usually played his own music and came out wearing decorations

hanging on chains, which was unusual for his time. For two years

Liszt was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. In some ways he

was much like Kurt Cobain, the late lead singer of the rock band

Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen,

Washington. He was passed on to several relatives after his

parents divorced when he was eight years old. For some time he

even lived under a bridge and was hospitalized for a heroin

addiction. It was not entirely unexpected that Cobain committed

suicide. He had had entered a coma by overdosing on a mixture of

champagne and tranquilizers on March 4. Also, Kurt’s family

history showed that two of his father’s uncles committed suicide,

along with the fact that there were a lot of dysfunctional

marriages and alcoholism present. During a concert, Kurt would

jerk around as if he was being electrocuted. After his death, the

sale of Nirvana memorabilia increased dramatically.

As you can see, both Franz Liszt and Kurt Cobain have some

characteristics in common. They had both been hospitalized for an

illness. However, one was physical while the other was mental.

Both had unusual concert styles. Like many classical composers,

Kurt was not truly appreciated until his death, as shown by the

fact that the sale of Nirvana memorabilia increased.