Symphonic Poem No. 7, Festklänge (“Festive sounds”), S. 101 – Franz Liszt

Symphonic Poem No. 7, Festklänge (“Festive sounds”), S. 101 by Franz Liszt

Liszt completed his seventh symphonic poem in 1853 while living in Weimar. The premiere performance of the work would be given in 1857. Liszt had intended for the work to be first played at his wedding to Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. It was a beautiful, but ultimately tragic plan.

Liszt first met the Polish Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein while playing in Kiev in 1847. The two fell in love and all evidence suggests a marriage was their intention except for one problem. Princess Carolyne was already married to Prince Nicholas von Sayn-Wittgenstein, a wealthy Russian Military officer.

Liszt retired from performing and took the position of Kapellmeister in Weimar in July of 1848, and would reside with Princess Carolyne while in Weimar, despite Carolyne still being married to Prince Nicholas. Correspondence between Princess Carolyn and Prince Nicholas at the time show the couple had essentially abandoned the pretence of their marriage, though officially they had never divorced.

Princess Carolyne and Prince Nicholas formally agreed to annul their marriage in 1850 (while Princess Carolyne was living with Liszt) on the agreement that Prince Nicholas would receive some of Carolyne’s estates in Poland. This agreement was dissolved by the Consistory Court of Zhtomyr in 1851, which left the Princess in the awkward situation of still being officially marred to Prince Nicholas, but living with Liszt.
This unpleasant period of negotiation between Carolyne and Nicholas would continue until 1860 when Carolyne was finally able to secure the annulment of their marriage with Pope Pius IX. Liszt and Carolyne were so confident that the matter was resolved and that their bright future lay ahead, they began planning their wedding to occur on the 22nd of October 1861, Liszt’s 50th Birthday.

Prince Nicholas however was not happy with the situation. Using the influence of his position, he gained the ear of the Tsar Alexander II who was able to quash the annulment from Rome. Alexander also confiscated all of Carolyne’s remaining estates in Europe for Nicholas, although in reality the estates would be added to the already immense Russian Empire.

This left Princess Carolyne in a precarious position. With no fortune to rely upon and a daughter that she needed to secure a marriage for, she was forced to make a difficult decision to abandon her own pursuit of happiness with Liszt, and instead moved to Italy to ensure there was no issue with the marriage of her daughter, Marie Pauline Antoinette, to the Austrian Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst.

While Carolyne and Liszt never married, they remained close friends until Liszt’s death in 1886 (Carolyne would die a year later). It was partly at the suggestion of Carolyne that Liszt retired from performing in 1848 and would focus on composition. The sad end of a naïve love story at least gave the world 40 years’ worth of music from an incredible composer.