Liszt at piano, 1886. Engraving based on an old photograph.

Franz Liszt (born Raiding, October 22, 1811; died Bayreuth, July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. Liszt (pronounced like “list”) was one of the most influential musicians of the 19 th century. He was the greatest pianist of his time and went on lots of tours through Europe where everyone filled the concert halls to hear him. He wrote a lot of music for piano. Many of his piano pieces were harder to play than anything that had been written before. In this way he developed the technique of piano playing, setting new standards for the future. In his compositions he often used new ideas which sounded very modern in his time. He was very helpful to other composers who lived at that time, helping them to become better known by conducting their works and playing some of their orchestral pieces on the piano.