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A proud Hungarian by birth, Franz Liszt was a pioneer both in his piano playing and in his compositions. He was also the nearest thing to a rock star that classical music had in the 19th century. Fans would reportedly swarm over him, try and grab his gloves, even smoke his discarded cigars!\\nLiszt lived up to his public image in his private life, with hectic touring schedules and colourful relationships with numerous women. But he was also generous to a fault \\u2013 for example, frequently teaching for free - and he was a great champion of other composers.

Rajan Datar is joined by three people for whom Liszt and his music occupy a central position in their professional lives:\\nDr. Rena Mueller, a musicologist emerita at New York University who is working on a complete thematic catalogue of Liszt's music;\\nDr. \\xc9va Polg\\xe1r who teaches at Azusa Pacific University in California and is a pianist noted for her championing of not just Liszt's works but all the music from her native Hungary;\\nand professor Kenneth Hamilton, Head of School of Music at Cardiff University, who is not just a distinguished pianist but also an author and broadcaster.

Examples from Liszt\\u2019s works used in the programme:\\nMazeppa (S.138) played by Leslie Howard\\nTotentanz performed by Krystian Zimerman , Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa\\nLa Campanella (\\xc9tudes d'ex\\xe9cution transcendente d'apr\\xe8s Paganini, S.140) played by Leslie Howard\\nApparition No. 2 played by Ashley Wass\\nSonetto 123 del Petrarca (Ann\\xe9es de p\\xe8lerinage II) played by Wilhelm Kempff\\nChase Neige (12 \\xc9tudes d'ex\\xe9cution transcendante, S.139) played by Boris Berezovsky\\nWilde Jagd (\\xc9tudes d'ex\\xe9cution transcendante, S.139 ) played by Daniil Trifonov\\nMazeppa (orchestral version, S. 100) performed by Wiener Philharmoniker, Giuseppe Sinopoli \\nBallade No. 2 played by Kenneth Hamilton\\nHungarian Rhapsody No. 2 played by Arcadi Volodos\\nCsardas Obstin\\xe9e played by \\xc9va Polg\\xe1r\\nLes jeux d'eaux \\xe0 la Villa d'Este (Ann\\xe9es de p\\xe8lerinage III) played by Egon Petri

(Image: Detail from a 19th-century caricature of Franz Liszt, Biblioth\\xe8que-Mus\\xe9e De L'Op\\xe9ra National De Paris-Garnier. Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images)