Editing Franz Liszt (section)

=== Writings ===
Liszt published a number of prose works and letters over the course of his life,{{sfn|Suttoni|1979|loc=''passim''}} including his 1863 ''Life of Chopin''.{{sfn|Liszt|2013|loc=}} Many scholars have doubted that he was their sole author, suggesting that the writings ascribed to Liszt were written partly or solely by Countess Marie d'Agoult or Princess Carolyne, but there is no consensus on this matter.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|pp=4-11}} It is known that the programs for some of his symphonic poems were ghost-written.{{sfn|Saffle|2012|p=xiii}}

One of Liszt's notable written works was his biography of Chopin, started less than a month after Chopin's funeral.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|p=17}} ''F. Chopin'' was serialised in the journal ''{{interlanguage link|La France musicale|fr}}'' in 1851 and published in book form the following year, having been edited by Carolyne.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|p=18}} The book was poorly received. Liszt had approached Chopin's sister [[Ludwika Jędrzejewicz|Ludwika]] and pupil [[Jane Stirling]] for information, but they had been uncooperative, finding the timing of his enquiries so soon after Chopin's death to be insensitive. As a result the work contained several factual inaccuracies.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|pp=18,30}} Nevertheless [[George Sand]], who features prominently in one of the chapters, admired the book.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|pp=18-19}} English translations garnered attention in the US and UK over the subsequent two decades, leading to a second edition in 1879.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|pp=19,41}} Once again Liszt asked Carolyne to help, but her contribution was so extensive that Liszt considered it over-involvement,{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2011|p=19}} going so far as to describe the book as having been "written by Carolyne".{{sfn|Szilasi|2011}}

One significant essay by Liszt is {{lang|fr|"De la situation des artistes"}} ("On the situation of artists"), which was serialised in the Parisian ''Gazette musicale'' in 1835.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2012|pp=78,110}} This work calls for the reform of theatres: Liszt perceived the physical buildings to be unsafe and unpleasant, and their managers to be incompetent. He argues that they would book the cheapest variety of acts without concern for artistic merit, leading to subpar concert experiences. Furthermore, owners would blacklist performers who had appeared at a rival venue. Liszt was also concerned about the lack of professionalism of educational institutions, which were run by unqualified teachers and charged high tuition. In his view, their courses lacked rigour, and had an undue preference for older music over that of living composers.{{sfn|Hall-Swadley|Liszt|2012|pp=30-32}}

During his Weimar years, Liszt wrote essays for audiences on ''[[Harold en Italie|Harold in Italy]]'', ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' and ''[[Alfonso und Estrella]]''. In addition he wrote the book {{lang|fr|Des Bohémiens et de leur musique en Hongrie}} (translated as ''The Gypsy in Music'') about the Romani and their influence on [[Hungarian folk music]].{{sfn|Eckhardt|Mueller|Walker|2001|loc=§14, § Writings: Books and essays from later years}} This work proved controversial in the country, with Hungarians disputing Liszt's assertion that Romani communities were responsible for a large contribution to the native music.{{sfn|Piotrowska|2013|pp=132-133}} The second edition, published in 1881, contains [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] passages included by Princess Carolyne.{{sfn|Eckhardt|Mueller|Walker|2001|loc=§14}}

Liszt also worked until at least 1885 on a [[treatise]] on modern harmony entitled ''Sketches for a Harmony of the Future''. [[Arthur Friedheim]], a pupil of Liszt's at the time, remembered seeing it among Liszt's papers at Weimar. Liszt told Friedheim that the time was not yet ripe to publish the manuscript.{{sfn|Walker|1970|pp=362-363}} This treatise has since been lost.{{sfn|Cook|1986|p=375}}