Franz Liszt wanted to become a priest from a very young age, but his father, Adam Liszt, envisioned a different career for him, even though he himself had considered a religious vocation and had been a novice in the Franciscan monastery in Malacky (Malatzka), only to leave the order before taking his vows. 

 You don’t need to be particularly well versed in music history to have heard of Franz Liszt.  Like every virtuoso, Franz Liszt was often accused of using his performing skills to show off his own greatness rather than that of the work. 

 Franz Liszt is not the first name that springs to mind when we hear the expression “rock star,” and yet there is a consensus among music historians that no one enjoyed a euphoric fan cult that came close to his – and so Liszt can rightly be called the rock star of his age.