The hot Liszt

Wagner borrowed from him, Bartók stole from him – and women kept his cigar butts in their cleavages. As Franz Liszt's 200th anniversary approaches, pianist Stephen Hough pays tributeFranz Liszt invented the whole concept of the pianist as star: a virtuoso who takes centre stage for an entire evening, playing in profile to a concentrated, adoring, enraptured audience. In fact, his mere presence on stage caused women to swoon. They would keep his discarded cigar butts nestled in their cleavages...

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