This is Franz Liszt, a German composer who spent twenty-six years composing his first piano concerto. He began in 1830 while still a student and didn't complete it until 1856. It's hard to say why it took him so long. Certainly, he was occupied with other things. A virtuoso pianist, he travelled Europe extensively as a young man, even stole Countess Marie d'Agoult from her family. Liszt was a piano teacher who represented the influential Neudeutsche Schule (New German School) and a conductor who contributed greatly to the modern development of his art. So he was busy.
Last week, I heard a story about New Year's resolutions. I honestly can't remember where I heard this (see prior entry about the circuitous mess of my mind), but what has remained is something the person, who I believe was a psychologist, said. Every resolution, she claimed, is basically a hope for the same thing: happiness. If I lose those ten pounds, I will be happier. If I call my mother more frequently, I will feel better about myself and therefore, be happier. If I save more money for vacations, I will travel and be happier. If I finally get that project/work/creation/novel/clean-up/plastic surgery/exercise/concerto/fill-in-the-blank done, I will be so incredibly happy!
I wonder. Liszt couldn't have known that soon after he completed the concerto, great sadness would enter his life with the deaths his two children. He even entered a monastery for a few years. But what I'm wondering is whether Liszt felt happiness with the completion of his long-labored concerto. Or whether the creation of it was the cause of contentment and that's why he worked on it for so long.
So make those resolutions and complete those goals, but make sure you're enjoying what you're doing in the meantime. You can hear a bit of Liszt's first piano concerto here. I think it was worth the wait.
