Liszt Museum endowed with rarities
An autograph orchestral transcription by Ferenc Liszt of the song Erlkönig by Schubert and other valuable acquisitions were unveiled in the Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum of the Liszt Academy in the presence of the President of the Republic János Áder on Wednesday.
Besides the manuscript, the Liszt memorial museum's other recent acquisitions include an Erard piano dating from the early decades of the 19th century, originally made for Caroline Saint-Cricq, Liszt's first love and pupil, and a painting of Nándor Táborszky, an important friend and publisher of Liszt, made in 1875. One of the guests at the presentation combined with a concert was President of the Republic János Áder, who made a contribution to the purchase of the Liszt manuscript.
The special piano is a significant acquisition for the museum. According to an official document from the Erard salon, the three-octave instrument left the workshop on 12 June 1827, and was presented to Countess Saint-Cricq, who was a student of Liszt and his first great love. The instrument was put up for auction in Paris in June 2013; given the associations it had with Liszt, it was purchased by the Friends of the Liszt Academy.
At the concert that followed the presentation pianist István Gulyás, professor of the Liszt Academy, chair of the Liszt Museum Foundation, performed Liszt adaptations for piano of Schubert's Erlkönig and Wagner's Tannhäuser, followed by two students of the Special School for Young Talents of the Liszt Academy: Gergely Devich (violoncello) played Zoltán Kodály's Lyrical Romance, and László Váradi (piano) played Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15.