Editing Franz Liszt (section)

=== Program music ===
{{See also|Program music|Symphonic poems (Liszt)}}

Liszt coined the term "[[program music]]" in an 1855 essay on Berlioz's ''[[Harold en Italie|Harold in Italy]]'', referring to pieces which are "driven by an overarching poetic image or narrative"{{sfn|Bonds|2014|p=210}} (in the case of ''Harold in Italy'', the piece "describes" the scenes witnessed by the character Harold as he travels through Italy).{{sfn|Macdonald|2005|loc=§3}} This is presented in opposition to [[absolute music]], which stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world. This was not a new idea{{snd}}such pieces had been written since the early 18th century, and Liszt himself had written works such as the early version of ''Années de pèlerinage'' which invoked his experiences travelling{{snd}}but he presented the novel argument that program music was artistically superior, counter to the prevailing view that such work was unserious.{{sfn|Bonds|2014|pp=210-211,213}} This developed into the idea that the historical development of music as an art form was destined to move from absolute to representational: Beethoven's symphonies had mostly been non-representational, but his [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|ninth symphony]] had included some extramusical elements, and Berlioz had taken this further with ''Harold in Italy'' and ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]''. Wagner saw these developments as a stepping stone to the all-encompassing {{lang|de|[[Gesamtkunstwerk]]}}, and in this sense Liszt's programmatic works were part of his vision of the "[[Music of the Future]]".{{sfn|Bonds|2014|pp=212-213}}

[[File:Wilhelm von Kaulbach 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Die Hunnenschlacht'', as painted by [[Wilhelm von Kaulbach]], that in turn inspired one of Liszt's symphonic poems]]
Liszt's main contribution to program music was [[Symphonic poems (Liszt)|his thirteen symphonic poems]], one-movement orchestral works in which some extramusical program or idea provides a narrative or illustrative element.{{sfn|Pesce|Eckhardt|Mueller|2023|loc=preface}} The first twelve of these were written between 1848 and 1858,{{sfn|Macdonald|2001|loc=§3}} and the most well-known are ''[[Les préludes]]'' and ''[[Mazeppa (symphonic poem)|Mazeppa]]''.{{sfn|Johns|1993|p=13}} The symphonic poems were poorly received by critics, especially in Weimar, where Liszt was residing at the time{{emdash}}they criticised Liszt's compositional style as well as the whole idea of program music as the future of music.{{sfn|Johns|1993|pp=17-18,19,22}}

Believing in the power of music to transcend people's typical quotidian existence, with his program music Liszt attempted to "elevate listeners to a higher realm of consciousness".{{sfn|Bonds|2014|p=213}} He argued that its purpose was less to do with depicting a specific scene or experience, and more about allowing the listener to reach a higher state of existence. Such music would act as a more direct method of communication than language, allowing people to share exactly their own experiences.{{sfn|Bonds|2014|p=214}} This view was endorsed by [[Franz Brendel]], Wagner and [[Friedrich Theodor Vischer]].{{sfn|Bonds|2014|pp=216-217}}