I always knew that Liszt was the greatest virtuoso of the 19th century but I never knew that he was treated and seen b y people as an almost god-like figure. I enjoyed the story on how Liszt fainted on his page turner and how he was carried off stage after a concert. Also, how he mingled with the audience between pieces and then returned to play some more. Can you imagine a pianist today doing something like that? I actually think that famous pianists today seldom want to talk to their audience after a concert. It might actually be inspiring to young pianists to talk to a great musician. Why do great pianists today only seldom teach and if they do it would only be to a select few. So many good things can be learned from them and I feel that they too often conveniently distract themselves from ordinary aspiring pianists. Why don’t famous pianists give master classes more often and inspire others more. I don’t say that they should be doing this all the time but I think that so many pianists would benefit so much by even just hearing that person talk or say a few general things about a piece- like Liszt did in the ‘group classes’. Personally I would find that extremely inspiring. The other problem is that not all pianists can get to the top and be a concert pianist. The instance where Liszt stopped the girl while playing shouting “No!No!”. I actually feel that more teachers today should be doing this. Surely that girl probably never touched the piano again- I know I wouldn’t. But I sometimes feel that everything cannot just be great or fantastic. Somewhere somebody has to draw the line between good playing and bad playing. If it is bad- speak up! It is actually just encouraging the viscous circle of pianist to teacher if everything is always seen as a good job.