The Mission of Art in the Music of Franz Liszt

December 21, 2020

The academic field of musicology, which involves the scholarly study of diverse forms of music, may still be relatively unknown in Japan. At the Keio University Faculty of Letters, there is a tradition of this discipline spanning over half a century, established by my mentor, Professor Hiroshi Nakano. I feel truly fortunate to be able to engage in the research and teaching of musicology at Keio University. While the field of musicology is wide-ranging, my research has focused on Western music, particularly the music of the Romantic composer Franz Liszt (1811–86).

Liszt, who literally took all of Europe by storm as a pianist in the 1830s and 1840s, is known as a piano virtuoso. Ornate works featuring transcendental technique have been described as "typical" of Liszt, and it is true that his music has this aspect. On the other hand, one can find many contradictions in his works and personality. It is also a fact that from a young age, he earnestly grappled with the essential questions for anyone involved in the arts—"What is music?" and "What is art?"—and sought to find his own answers. He came to believe that the mission of art is to soothe and ennoble contentious humanity. I believe that music as a form of "art-religion" aiming for salvation from evil and suffering is what constitutes truly "Lisztian" music. Particularly from the 1850s onward, he pursued this kind of music in the instrumental genre of the symphonic poem, and from the 1860s, he continued a similar pursuit in the realm of religious vocal music, such as oratorios and cantatas, as well as organ music. One could say that his transcendental technique was a necessary means to express his magnificent world. However, Liszt's religious works are still under-researched, and much of the basic data, such as the compositional process, remains unknown. My research theme is to clarify how he expressed his artistic views in his creative activities during the turbulent 19th century in Europe, a time of great bloodshed.