Adoring Female Fans? Reframing Franz Liszt’s Relationships with Women through the Lens of the Salon

This article explores the relationship of the well-known classical composer Franz Liszt and women. During his European tours of the 1830s and 1840s, audiences were enthralled by Liszt’s charisma and dramatic musicianship, which initiated a wave of Liszt fever. Women, especially, were enthralled by Liszt’s performances and later played a central role in the development of his career. With Liszt’s participation in various salons, his relationships with women as interlocutors, friends or intellectual equals are further portrayed.