Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 2.djvu/157

LIPINSKI. the course of a lengthened musical tournée, he visited Leipsic, then becoming the scene of much musical activity owing to Mendelssohn's settlement there; and there he made the acquaintance of Schumann, which resulted in the dedication to him of the 'Carneval' (op. 9) which was composed in 1834. In 1836 he visited England and played his military concerto at the Philharmonic Concert of April 25. In 1839 Lipinski became Concertmeister at Dresden, where he entirely reorganised the royal chapel, thus doing very much the same service to Dresden that Hellmesberger subsequently did to Vienna. He retired with a pension in 1861, and died on December 16, of sudden paralysis of the lungs, at Urlow, his country house near Lemberg.

His compositions (now forgotten) are numerous, and his concertos, fantasias, and variations, are valuable contributions to violin music. One of the best known was the 'Military Concerto,' which for years was much played and was the object of the ambition of many a student of the violin. It is even now occasionally heard in public. In conjunction with Zalewski, the Polish poet, he edited an interesting collection of Galician 'Volkslieder' with pianoforte accompaniments. [ F. G. ]

The most prominent qualities of Lipinski's playing were a remarkably broad and powerful tone, which he ascribed to his early studies on the cello; perfect intonation in double stops, octaves, etc.; and a warm enthusiastic individuality. But the action of his right arm and wrist were somewhat heavy. He was an enthusiastic musician, and especially in his later years played Beethoven's great quartets and Bach's solos in preference to everything else. [ P. D. ]

LISBETH. The title of the French version of Mendelssohn's 'Heimkehr aus der Fremde'; translated by J. Barbier, and produced at the Theatre Lyrique June 9, 1865. [ G. ]

LISCHEN ET FRITZCHEN. An operetta in 1 act; words by Paul Dubois, music by Offenbach. Produced at Ems; and reproduced at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris, Jan. 5, 1864; in London (French), at St. James's, June 2, 1868. [ G. ]

LISLEY,, contributed a six-part madrigal—'Faire Citharea presents hir doves'—to 'The Triumphes of Oriana,' 1601, but no other composition by him has survived, nor is anything known of his biography. [ W. H. H. ]

LISZT,, is one of the favourites of fortune, and his success is perhaps unequalled, certainly unsurpassed in the history of Art. At his first public appearance at Vienna, Jan. 1, 1823, his genius was acknowledged with an enthusiasm in which the whole musical republic, from Beethoven down to the obscurest dilettante, joined unanimously. His concert tours were so many triumphal progresses through a country which extended from Madrid to St. Petersburg, and in which he was acknowledged as the king of pianists; and the same success accompanied all he undertook in life. When, tired of the shallow fame of the virtuoso, he devoted himself to composition, he had, it is true, at first to encounter the usual obstacles of popular indifference and professional ill-will. But these were soon overcome by his energy, and Liszt is at present living to see his works admired by many and ignored by none. As an orchestral conductor also he added laurels to his wreath.

Franz Liszt was born Oct. 22, 1811, at Raiding, in Hungary, the son of Adam Liszt, an official in the imperial service, and a musical amateur of sufficient attainment to instruct his son in the rudiments of pianoforte-playing. At the age of 9 young Liszt made his first appearance in public at Oedenburg with such success that several Hungarian noblemen guaranteed him sufficient means to continue his studies for six years. For that purpose he went to Vienna, and took lessons from Czerny on the pianoforte and from Salieri and Randhartinger in composition. The latter introduced the lad to his friend Franz Schubert. His first appearance in print was probably in a variation (the 24th) on a waltz of Diabelli's, one of 50 contributed by the most eminent artists of the day, for which Beethoven, when asked for a single variation, wrote thirty-three (op. 120). The collection, entitled Vaterländische Künstler-Verein, was published in June 1823. In the same year he proceeded to Paris, where it was hoped that his rapidly growing reputation would gain him admission at the Conservatoire in spite of his foreign origin. But Cherubini refused to make an exception in his favour, and he continued his studies under Reicha and Paër. Shortly afterwards he also made his first serious attempt at composition, and an operetta in one act, called 'Don Sanche,' was produced at the Académie Royale, Oct.17, 1825, and well received. Artistic tours to Switzerland and England, accompanied by brilliant success, occupy the period till the year 1827, when Liszt lost his father and was