Background
Liszt completed the composition of the Sonata in 1853, but as early as 1849 he had already composed a precursor version of the Sonata and had also performed it in the circle of his closest friends and pupils. At this point in his life, Liszt’s career as a traveling virtuoso had almost entirely subsided, as he had been influenced towards leading the life of a composer rather than a performer by Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein almost five years earlier. Liszt’s life was established in Weimar and he was living a comfortable lifestyle, composing, and occasionally performing, entirely by choice rather than necessity. The sonata was dedicated to Robert Schumann, in return for Schumann's dedication of his Fantasie in C, Op. 17 (1836) to Liszt.
Read more about this topic: Piano Sonata (Liszt)
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