Les croisements romantiques des sens: Liszt lecteur de Senancour

Abstract

In the following paper I present certain aesthetic ideas from one of the best-known Senancour’s novel – Obermann (1804) which was one of the most important lectures of Franz Liszt during his formative years. Senancour appears in Liszt’s correspondence both as an admired person and as a writer. Liszt often quoted and commented on fragments of Obermann in his letters and writings, and in his musical works. The latter one is most interesting because Liszt created a new genre of music – “a poetic music” which is inspired by poetry and preceded by a literary quotation. I show Senancour’s influence on Liszt’s writings, and particularly on his music on the example of Vallée d’Obermann and Le mal du pays.