i can see that--i guess i just don't personally care for liszt much (sorry). i had to play too much of his stuff that was written just to show off how awesome he was, and it sort of turned me off to him. lots of fluff and not enough substance. but i can see how you could feel that way about him. he knew his shit.IRG CommandoJoe wrote: I have to agree the ninth is generally my favorite piece of music. And he was innovative for his time. But Liszt, IMO, was more innovative. He really changed the way music was composed and performed. He broke away from Beethoven's structure and made an entirely new one which is the basis for virtually all orchestrations today.
oh! one more contribution! hector berlioz! totally taught himself how to compose, came up with that whole col legno thing, and wrote one of the coolest pieces ("symphonie fantastique") ever. got in lots of trouble for putting the sacred 'dies irae' in a secular piece--was the first to mix the two. he rocks.