When Franz Liszt took over the court orchestra in Weimar in 1848, the memory of Goethe, who had previously directed the court theatre, was still venerated. Liszt was therefore Goethe's direct heir at Weimar - albeit as a musician. With his Faust Symphony, which was premiered on the same day as the inauguration of the Goethe and Schiller monument in front of the theatre, psychology made its way into music; Liszt's ambition was the "renewal of music through its more intimate connection with poetry". His Faust Symphony demonstrates the power of sound, of tone painting, to evoke a fantastical, epic and psychological world.
Each movement corresponds to a character whose traits and psychology it depicts. This is programme music, but it does not tell a story and is certainly not descriptive music. Liszt characterised musically the profound nature of each character, offering a subtle and analytical interpretation of the story of Faust as told by Goethe. The three character pictures are psychological tableaux set to music. Liszt does not simply tell the story of the characters or describe their feelings: he evokes their psyches.
Kirill Karabits conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar in this repertoire which is especially close to the ensemble.
"Liszt's orchestral portraits of Faust, Marguerite and Mephistopheles positively leap off the page in this vital, richly characterised account of the Goethe-inspired symphony: the Weimar brass glow and growl in the opening movement depicting Faust's torment, principal oboe and viola are on eloquent form when portraying Marguerite's innocence, and the devilish scherzo is given with dazzling clarity" - Katherine Cooper, Presto Music, August 2023.
