Liszt

In this classic work on music biography, Sacheverell Sitwell narrates Franz Liszt's rapid ascent to European fame - and the effect that this incredible early success as a wonderfully gifted pianist had on his later life - with insight, sympathy and humanity, One of the very first studies of Liszt to be published in English, this remarkable biography uses the full force of Sitwell's poetic talent to bring this brilliant and difficult man's world vividly to life, and captures the artistic mood of the era in extraordinary detail. Perceptive, engaging and full of personality, Liszt rightfully takes its place as one of the most important accounts of its subject's life.

Sir Sacheverell Sitwell (1897-1988) was a member of the famously talented Sitwell family - the younger brother of Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Osbert Sitwell. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford and served in the Grenadier Guards during the First World War. He and his siblings were a formidable force in artistic circles and Sacheverell became known for both his art and music criticism, as well as his writings on architecture. Cited in the BBC's 1986 Domesday project as "a leading authority on Mozart & Liszt", Sitwell's excellent books on the lives of composers are still consulted today.