Liszt's passion in music was sparked by his father, a pianist who knew Classical giants like as Haydn and Beethoven intimately. His father, Adam Liszt, worked in Esterhazy, the same estate where Haydn spent most of his life.¹⁾

Liszt's father insisted on his practice with a metronome, which may explain why he was famed for his ability to keep perfect time.²⁾

Apart from his father's knowledge of the Classical greats, Liszt studied with Carl Czerny as a child. Carl Czerny was a renowned piano instructor and one of Beethoven's top students.³⁾

Many years of Liszt's life were devoted teaching piano, which he typically did in a group setting. He used to tutor pupils from all over Paris from early to night when he was younger. He would drive considerable miles to go to their homes, and as a result, he would work quite late.⁴⁾

Liszt spent over a decade of his life travelling Europe and playing 3-4 times a week, on average. That implies he has given over 1,000 concerts in the last ten years.⁵⁾

Before Elvis became Elvis, Liszt was Elvis. It was dubbed “Lisztomania” because ladies would faint and go insane when he performed, to the point where local physicians mistook it for a mental disorder epidemic.⁶⁾

Hans Christian Anderson had this to say about Liszt: “There was as if an electric charge shot through the saloon when Liszt entered it,” he wrote in his diary after seeing Liszt for the first time. “Every face seemed to be illuminated by a ray of sunlight”.⁷⁾

Because of his fame, Liszt was able to fill concert halls with solo performances, and he elevated the piano as a solo instrument in the concert hall. He also shifted the piano's location on stage so that the audience could see his hands and hear the music more clearly.⁸⁾

However, Liszt was not instantly well-known. His early attempts in composition were panned. In 1832, Liszt was enthralled by the violin virtuoso Paganini's performance. Liszt was resolved to be to the piano what Paganini was to the violin right then and there (and he succeeded).⁹⁾