Great things in Little Packages

Some times size doesn't matter. Take the case of Eugene D'Albert, born in Scotland of a French mother and an Italian father. Eugene studied music with a number of composers including Arthur Sullivan who found it tiring to go through all of D'Albert's compositional studies, so Eugene packed up and went to Weimar to study with Liszt and discovered that he was German after all, telling anyone who would listen that he learned nothing in the land of fogs and now only exists to advance the Glory of German Art. Liszt found him an apt pupil and after the early death of Karl Tausig, it was D'Albert that became New Music's star pianist.

There were lots to do and Eugene did it composing 21 Operas, in German of course, concertize, teach and marry and divorce six times! Of the many Liszt pupils that lived long enough to record it was D'Albert who gives us the wildest and most exciting performances.

You can hear more about the 5 foot tall Eugene D'Albert; the man Liszt smilingly called Albertus Magnus on the Piano, this Sunday afternoon at 5 here on KPAC and KTXI.


host, Randy Anderson