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The Reception of Liszt’s Faust Symphony in the United States

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Abstract
Liszt reception has largely suffered from lack of academic research. In 2011, Michael Saffle’s initiative detailing Franz Liszt’s influence on musicians around the world spearheaded the historicization of Liszt reception. In response to his efforts, this thesis provides the first detailed documentation of the Faust Symphony’s reception in the United States. Occupying a unique approach, focusing purely on United States reception, this thesis demonstrates United States music dissemination trends and contributes to efforts creating a more global picture of Liszt and his music. Above all, the documentation of conductors, performances, broadcastings, recordings, and requests proves Liszt’s symphonic work impacted larger audiences than previously acknowledged. This impact was lasting, especially in the United States. Analyses of early influential United States symphonic compositions demonstrate clear influence from Liszt’s Faust Symphony. These pieces created a foundation built upon by succeeding United States composers, producing a uniquely “American” sound through a Lisztian form. This reception recognizes Liszt as an influential symphonic composer, and in doing so, begs its audience to reassess preconceived histories describing the development of the United States symphonic tradition.
Type
thesis
Date
2020-05
Publisher
License
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/