Editing Marie d'Agoult (section)

==Life==
Marie was born in [[Frankfurt am Main]], Germany,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Agoult, Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, Comtesse d' |volume= 1 |page= 381 }}</ref> with the full name of '''Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny''', the daughter of Alexandre Victor François, Vicomte de Flavigny (1770–1819), a footloose émigré French aristocrat, and his wife [[Bethmann family|Maria Elisabeth Bethmann]] (1772–1847), whose father was the German merchant and banker [[Johann Philipp Bethmann]] (1715–1793). The young Marie spent her early years in Germany and completed her education in a French convent after the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]].

She entered into an early [[marriage of convenience]] with Charles Louis Constant d'Agoult, Comte d'Agoult (1790–1875) on 16 May 1827, thereby becoming the Comtesse d'Agoult. They had two daughters, Louise (1828–1834) and Claire (1830–1912). Marie never divorced the count, even though she had left him for Franz Liszt.

From 1835 to 1839, she lived with composer and [[virtuoso]] pianist [[Franz Liszt]], who was six years younger, and was then a rising concert star. She became close to Liszt's circle of friends, including [[Frédéric Chopin]] (despite the hatred between her and Chopin’s partner [[George Sand]]), who dedicated his [[Études (Chopin)#Études Op. 25|12 Études, Op. 25]] to her (his earlier set of [[Études (Chopin)#Études Op. 10|12 Études, Op. 10]] had been dedicated to Liszt). Liszt's "Die Lorelei", one of his very first pieces, based on text by [[Heinrich Heine]], was also dedicated to her. 

From summer 1837 until autumn 1839 they travelled to [[Italy]] and [[Switzerland]], staying successively in [[Bellagio, Lombardy|Bellagio]], [[Milan]], [[Venice]], [[Lugano]], [[Modena]], [[Florence]], [[Bologna]] and [[Rome]]. It was these travels that inspired the composer to write his cycle of piano collections entitled [[Années de pèlerinage]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Liszt |first=Franz |url= |title=Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année, Italie |publisher=Henle |others=Ernst Herttrich, Hans-Martin Theopold |year=1978 |isbn= |location=München |pages=III |language=en, de, fr |ismn=979-0-2018-0174-2 |oclc=4906095}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Liszt |first=Franz |date=2020 |editor-last=Jost |editor-first=Peter |title=Années de pèlerinage, Première Année - Suisse |url=https://www.henle.de/en/detail/?Title=Ann%C3%A9es+de+p%C3%A8lerinage,+Premi%C3%A8re+Ann%C3%A9e+-+Suisse_1490&setgeolang=en |archive-url= |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=www.henle.de |publisher=G. Henle Verlag |page=V, VI |format=}}</ref>

D'Agoult had three children with Liszt; however, she and Liszt did not marry, maintaining their independent views and other differences while Liszt was busy composing and touring throughout Europe.
[[File:Marie d'Agoult par Théodore Chasseriau.jpg|thumb|Portrait of d'Agoult by [[Théodore Chassériau]] (Musée du Louvre)]]

Her children with Liszt were:
* Blandine Rachel (1835–1862), who was the first wife of future French prime minister [[Émile Ollivier]] and died at the age of 26
* [[Cosima Wagner|Francesca Gaetana Cosima]] (1837–1930), who first married pianist and conductor [[Hans von Bülow]] and then composer [[Richard Wagner]]
* Daniel (1839–1859), who was already a promising pianist and gifted scholar when he died of [[tuberculosis]].

In 1876, she died in Paris, aged 70, and was buried in Division 54 of [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]].