Franz Liszt and Agnes Street-Klindworth: A Correspondence, 1854-1886

Franz Liszt's liaison with Agnes Street-Klindworth was a shadowy affair and one of the best-kept secrets of the Weimar years, according to Alan Walker, and La Mara's heavily censored 1894 edition of the Liszt-Agnes letters did little to illuminate this relationship. Here, in a new and expanded edition of those letters, Pauline Pocknell casts new light not only on Liszt himself, but on a woman who was the Master's mistress and confidante as well as a spy of considerable historical importance in her own right. This new critical edition contains all 160 extant letters in both English and French, transcribed from the most reliable sources and carefully annotated by a scholar of increasing reputation. Also included are-biographical information about Agnes herself; historical and critical prefaces; detailed notes for each letter; linking text between letters; analytical tables of the correspondence; an extensive bibliography and an index. Some 40 rare illustrations accompany the letters themselves and help readers visualize Liszt's and Agnes's circumstances and the amorous and diplomatic encounters they documented for posterity.