Bust of Franz Liszt

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Liszt earned widespread acclaim across Europe in the early nineteenth century for his exceptional mastery of the piano, demonstrating an unparalleled virtuosic skill that left audiences in awe. He forged lasting friendships with numerous influential composers of his era, including Frédéric Chopin, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Robert Schumann, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull, Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka, and Alexander Borodin. As a composer, Liszt emerged as one of the most prominent figures of the New German School (Neudeutsche Schule), leaving behind an impressive body of work that greatly impacted his forward-thinking contemporaries and foreshadowed many revolutionary ideas and movements of the 20th century. Some of his most significant musical contributions included pioneering the symphonic poem, expanding upon the concept of thematic transformation through innovative experiments in musical form, and introducing radical shifts in harmony that transformed the art form.