The 'Consolations' are among the best-known piano works by Franz Liszt. Their popularity is due not only to their expressive and lyrical character but also to their relatively moderate pianistic demands. Having a long history, the final version of the six pieces appeared in print for the first time in 1850. The Wiener Urtext Edition provides this version authorized by Liszt for publication, the text of which is mainly based on the German first edition owing to the lack of extant autographs and engraver's copies. In addition, the French first edition as well as separate editions of the Consolations Nos. 3 and 5 published in London or Paris were consulted as well. The edition iscomplemented by performance notes of the Liszt pupil Lina Ramann which are virtually first-hand records of Liszt's interpretational ideas. Furthermore, a clear notation without page-turn problems makes it easier to study and perform the popular works.
Franz Liszt (1811, Doborján, Hungary - 1886, Bayreuth, Germany)(Hungarian: Ferencz Liszt, in modern usage Ferenc Liszt, from 1859 to 1865 officially Franz Ritter von Liszt) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher. He was also the father-in-law of Richard Wagner.
Liszt became renowned throughout Europe for his great skill as a performer during the 1800s. He is said to have been the most technically advanced and perhaps greatest pianist of all time. He was also an important and influential composer, a notable piano teacher, a conductor who contributed significantly to the modern development of the art, and a benefactor to other composers and performers, notably Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz.
As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the “neudeutsche schule” (“New German School”). He left behind a huge and diverse body of work, in which he influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends. Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical departures in harmony.