Charles Owen: can you hear God in Franz Liszt’s music?

Franz Liszt is remembered as one of the great showmen of the 19th century: a dazzling virtuoso, breaker of pianos and notorious womaniser who inspired a frenzy among his admirers. But a profound Catholic faith ran through his life, which found an increasingly powerful expression in his music. For this Holy Smoke episode, Damian Thompson is joined by the award-winning British pianist Charles Owen, whose new album De Profundis explores the sacred music of both Liszt and César Franck. Owen explains how Liszt translated the stories of saints, scripture and even birdsong into what he argues is some of the most extraordinary music ever written for the piano.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.