Franz Liszt 150th Anniversary Stamps in 1961

In 1961, the music world honored the composer and pianist Franz Liszt on the 150th anniversary of his birth. In addition to many musical events, there were a number of Liszt 150th anniversary stamps commemorating this anniversary. This post features stamps in my collection from that anniversary year.

Composer stamps are very popular issues with countries. The very first composer stamps were from Austria in 1922. One reason for the popularity of composer stamps is that these musical geniuses can instill a sense of national pride. Any country that can claim a major composer as their own, wants that association.

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt was perhaps the greatest pianist who ever lived and he established the idea of a superstar virtuoso piano player. He was also a composer, organist, and conductor. Liszt was born in 1811 in the village of Doborján, in the Kingdom of Hungary. His father was a professional musician working for Prince Esterhazy. At the age of seven, Liszt began to study music with his father, and his immense talent was soon apparent. He began composing at age eight, and concertizing at nine.

Due to his father’s musical connections, Liszt was able to go to Vienna where he made his debut on Dec. 1, 1822 (he was 11). He was able to meet the greatest musicians of the era including both Beethoven and Schubert. Like Mozart, he was celebrated as a child prodigy. Unfortunately, Liszt’s father died in 1827, when the young pianist was sixteen. Franz and his mother went to Paris and to make money he taught piano and composition.

Then, in 1832, Liszt went to a concert of the great violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. Liszt was in awe of the artistry and performance of Paganini and decided he wanted to become a similar type of soloist on the piano. This was when he began to perform and compose in earnest. His dashing good looks and his virtuosic piano playing quickly made him one of Europe’s greatest celebrities. He reached the zenith of his pianistic career in the 1840s and 50s.

Later Life

Then, in the 1860s, several personal tragedies disrupted his career. In December of 1859, his twenty-year old son died of tuberculosis. Three years later, in 1862, his twenty-six year old daughter died from sepsis following mastitis. A grief-stricken Liszt withdrew from the performance world and entered a monastery.

A deeply religious man, Liszt withdrew from the world after the death of his children. In the monastery, he eventually became a Franciscan monk. While devoting his life to a more religious existence, Liszt continued in music. He became a teacher, conductor, and most especially, a composer. He split his life between Budapest, Weimar, and Rome, traveling extensively well into his later life. Liszt died in 1886.

Liszt 150th Anniversary Stamps

A particularly popular time to issue composer stamps are on big anniversaries of birth and death years. The first of these anniversary stamps were from Germany in 1935, when the country celebrated big anniversaries for Bach, Handel, and Schütz. One of the most popular anniversaries was in 1956 when the world honored the bicentennial of Mozart’s birth complete with many postage stamps. Liszt is not as famous as Mozart, but still the 1961 anniversary saw the creation of ten different stamps from four countries.

Hungary

Franz Liszt was Hungarian and the country took great pride in his fame and his music. Of course, Hungary was the site of many celebratory events in honor of his 150th birth anniversary. Consequently, this includes issuing a whole series of stamps. There were actually four Hungarian stamps in honor of Liszt that year. Three of them as a set and then a fourth separately as a souvenir sheet.

The set of three stamps seem to be the design of famous Hungarian illustrator Ferenc Bokros. Although, two of the stamps also bear the name of Szabolcs Zsitva. The first stamp features a keyboard, an unidentifiable score, and Liszt’s profile. Next, the second stamp depicts a statue of Liszt from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, which was the design of Alajos Strobl. The last stamp in the set quotes two measures from Liszt’s Second Hungarian Rhapsodie.

Hungary also made a souvenir sheet stamp by the graphic designer Adam Cziglenyi. The stamp features a bust of Liszt with a piano keyboard background.

Austria

Vienna was the place where he began his musical career and met many other famous musicians. Austria can rightly claim Liszt as a part of its rich musical history. They celebrated the 150th anniversary in 1961 with a quite wonderful portrait of Liszt as an older man. It was the design of Rudolf Toth

East Germany

East Germany also celebrated the Hungarian pianist with a set of four postage stamps in 1961. It is an interesting set with four designs by three artists: Margot Sachs, G. Stauf, and Oswin Volkamer. Each stamp is of a single color print on white paper and has a different denomination. Two of the stamps feature Liszt with another composer, one with Berlioz and one with Chopin. Of course, both composers were in Liszt’s circle in Paris and the men had great influence on each other’s music.

The ten pfenning stamp just features an image of Liszt’s hand. While this seems odd, since the nineteenth century audiences have been curious about his hands. There were many casts of them made during his lifetime and some are still in museum collections. Finally, the twenty pfenning stamp depicts a relief of Liszt as it appears on a commemorative medallion. Such likeness of famous people on medals for display were another popular item in the nineteenth century. It is both an interesting, and slightly odd, set of four stamps celebrating Franz Liszt.

USSR

Finally, perhaps the most surprising country to issue a stamp for Liszt’s 150th anniversary was the Soviet Union. However, Liszt was an international superstar of the nineteenth century and anyone who loves pianists (and Russians love pianists) reveres Liszt. Perhaps it is not that surprising at all. The stamp features a profile image of a young Liszt along with his life dates. To the right, a silhouette of a grand piano can be made out behind a musical score. According to Jacques Posell, a noted collector and scholar of musical stamps, the quotation is from the 12th Hungarian Rhapsodie for piano.

To finish, perhaps you want to hear a little bit of Liszt’s music. Here is a recording of the 12th Hungarian Rhapsodie that appears on the Soviet stamp. Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite Liszt stamp from 1961 or another year? How about a favorite Liszt composition? Let me know in the comments below.