Dreams of Love – Liszt

Dreams of Love – Liszt (Hungarian: Szerelmi álmok – Liszt, also known in English as The Loves of Liszt) is a Hungarian-Soviet epic musical/drama produced and directed by Márton Keleti, based on the biography of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt.

This article is about the 1970 film. For the composition by Liszt, see Liebesträume.
Dreams of Love – Liszt
Directed byMárton Keleti
Written byDaniil Del
StarringImre Sinkovits
Ariadna Shengelaya
Sándor Pécsi
Klara Luchko
Igor Dmitriev
CinematographyIstván Hildebrand
Edited byMihály Morell
Music byFranz Liszt
Ferenc Farkas
Production
companies
MAFILM
Lenfilm
Distributed byEllman Film Enterprises (USA)
Release date
  • 1970 (1970)
Running time
174 minutes
CountriesHungary
Soviet Union
LanguagesHungarian
English
German
French
Russian

While the movie was criticized for some of its historical inaccuracies, its epic scope and intense scenes of virtuoso musical performances won wide praise and has been credited with affecting the cultural landscape of the 1970s Eastern Europe.

Plot summary

An epic film about the Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt. He is an international star giving performances all over Europe and goes on a concert tour to St. Petersburg, Russia. Liszt's brilliant piano playing impressed the Russian royalty and aristocracy. Even the Russian Tsar stops talking when Liszt plays his piano. Liszt becomes a friend of the Russian composer Glinka. Liszt's beautiful music touches everyone's heart. Women are pursuing him and his lengthy affair with countess Marie d'Agoult is in trouble.

In Russia, Liszt meets the beautiful Princess Carolyne, they fall in love, and she soon leaves her husband for Liszt. She becomes a muse and inspiration for Liszt, and his last and strongest love. Inspired by his love for Carolyne, Liszt creates the most beautiful romantic piano composition, "Liebestraum" (also known as "Dream of Love") dedicated to her, and the piece becomes a classic hit. But the church does not allow Liszt to marry Carolyne, because she could not terminate her first marriage. The unmarried couple moves to the city of Weimar, where Liszt becomes the music director for the royal orchestra. This becomes the most productive and happy period in Liszt's life.

The brilliant pianist and composer Franz Liszt becomes a superstar. He tours many countries and makes people happy with his music, albeit his love life is in trouble. Carolyne cannot terminate her marriage while her husband is alive. Her relatives are against Liszt. She and Liszt remain unmarried, and Liszt suffers from emotional pain until the end of his life. Being loved by the public, Liszt is never really happy in his personal life, so he expresses himself making beautiful music.

Cast

Production
  • This is a joint Hungarian-Soviet production of MAFILM Studio 3 and Lenfilm Studio.
  • Production dates: 1968–1970.
  • Filmed in the Soviet Union, East Germany and Hungary.
  • Liszt's historic performance in Russia was filmed at St. Petersburg Bolshoi Philharmonic Hall.
  • Sviatoslav Richter plays piano for the character of Liszt, including études and the famous "Liebestraum".
  • The Hungarian version runtime is 174 minutes.
  • The Soviet version is reduced down to 150 minutes, with some scenes deleted.
  • The American version is reduced to 130 minutes, with many scenes deleted.
  • Released in 1970 in Hungary and the Soviet Union.
  • Released on September 29, 1972, in Finland, and in December 1975, in the USA.
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