FEATURED ESSAYS 1. The Life Of Franz Liszt 2. Similarities Between Franz Liszt ... 3. Similarities Between Franz Liszt ... 4. Franz Liszt And Kurt Cobain 5. Nirvana 6. Nirvana 7. At The Height Of His Career, W 8. The Biography Of Kurt Donald Coba... 9. Heroin 10. Kurt Cobain 11. Kurt Cobain 12. Kurt Cobain: Biography 13. Come As You Are The Nirvana St 14. Romanticism In Music

Franz Liszt and Kurt Cobain


     Franz Liszt was one of many classical composers. In some ways, he can
be compared to a modern rock and roll star. Franz Liszt was born in Raiding,
Hungary, on October 22, 1811. Much like Mozart, he was a very great piano
player at a very young age. Liszt composed an opera called Don Sancho at
the age of fourteen. Professionals of Liszt's time thought that he was only
a genius with the piano, which was not enough to give his ideas the great
recognition they deserved. Many people thought that Liszt was "a mover and
a shaker, a rebel, chased women, and had much talent and personality."
     He had invented the solo recital. When Liszt had a concert, he usually
played his own music and came out wearing decorations hanging on chains,
which was unusual for his time. For two years Liszt was hospitalized for a
nervous breakdown. In some ways he was much like Kurt Cobain, the late lead
singer of the rock band Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967,
in Aberdeen, Washington. He was passed on to several relatives after his
parents divorced when he was eight years old. For some time he even lived
under a bridge and was hospitalized for a heroin addiction. It was not
entirely unexpected that Cobain committed suicide. He had had entered a
coma by overdosing on a mixture of champagne and tranquilizers on March 4.
Also, Kurt's family history showed that two of his father's uncles
committed suicide, along with the fact that there were a lot of
dysfunctional marriages and alcoholism present. During a concert, Kurt
would jerk around as if he was being electrocuted. After his death, the
sale of Nirvana memorabilia increased dramatically.
     As you can see, both Franz Liszt and Kurt Cobain have some
characteristics in common. They had both been hospitalized for an illness.
However, one was physical while the other was mental. Both had unusual
concert styles. Like many classical composers, Kurt was not truly
appreciated until his death, as shown by the fact that the sale of Nirvana
memorabilia increased.

WORKS CITED

Dougherty, Steve, "No Way Out." People Weekly April 25 1994. Pg. 38

Goulding, Phil G. Classical Music New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1992

Rosen, Craig, "Cobain death spurs rush at retail; biz talk turns to bands
unreleased work." Billboard April 23 1994. Pg. 9

Schoenberg, Harold C. The Lives of the Great Composers. New York, London:
WW Norton & CO., 1981

Seidenberg, Robert, "The Day the Demons Won." Entertainment Weekly April 7
1995. Pg. 108