7 Franz Liszt 7campanella—and also three Beethoven symphonies, some
songs by Franz Schubert, and further works of Berlioz.
His second daughter, Cosima, was born in 1837 and
his son, Daniel, in 1839, but toward the end of that year his
relations with Madame d’Agoult became strained and she
returned to Paris with the children. Liszt then returned
to his career as a virtuoso. For the next eight years Liszt
traveled all over Europe, giving concerts in countries as
far apart as Ireland, Portugal, Turkey, and Russia. He con-
tinued to spend his summer holidays with Madame
d’Agoult and the children until 1844; then they finally
parted, and Liszt took the children to Paris. Liszt’s bril-
liance and success were at their peak during these years as a
virtuoso, and he continued to compose, writing songs as
well as piano works.
His visit to Hungary in 1839 –40, the first since his
boyhood, was an important event. His renewed interest in
the music of the Gypsies laid the foundations for his
Hungarian Rhapsodies and other piano pieces composed in
the Hungarian style. He also wrote a cantata for the
Beethoven Festival of 1845 and composed some smaller
choral works.
Compositions at Weimar
In February 1847 Liszt met the princess Carolyne Sayn-
Wittgenstein at Kiev and later spent some time at her
estate in Poland. She quickly persuaded him to give up his
career as a virtuoso and to concentrate on composition.
He gave his final concert at Yelizavetgrad (Kirovograd) in
September of that year. Having been director of music
extraordinary to the Weimar court in Germany since 1843,
and having conducted concerts there since 1844, Liszt
decided to settle there permanently in 1848. He was later
joined by the princess, who had unsuccessfully tried to