44: Discovering Liszt's Christmas Tree Suite: A Family Tradition in Music for the Holiday Season

Welcome to a heartwarming holiday episode of the "Music in Our Homeschool" podcast with host Gena Mayo. Dive into the enchanting world of Franz Liszt and his delightful Christmas Tree Suite, a collection of 12 short piano pieces written as a gift for his granddaughter, Daniela. This episode offers a perfect blend of music history, theory, and festive fun, designed to bring joy and education to your homeschooling family.

Gena Mayo, a veteran music teacher and homeschooling mom of eight, takes you on a magical journey through the life and works of Franz Liszt. Learn about Liszt’s early musical prowess, his rise to fame that stirred "Lisztomania" across Europe, and his generous spirit that made him a beloved teacher and composer. You’ll discover fascinating anecdotes, including how his passionate playing would sometimes break piano strings and wear out the instruments themselves.

The episode dives deep into the Christmas Tree Suite, highlighting pieces like "O Holy Night," "Scherzoso," and "Shepherds at the Manger." Gena explains how Liszt used dynamics, major and minor tonalities, and thematic transformation to create varying moods and emotions in his music. To make this more engaging for your homeschool, she shares fun, hands-on activities, such as drawing what you hear, creating your own Christmas suite, guessing the mood of melodies, and matching dynamics.

Don’t miss the chance to make music education fun and memorable this holiday season. Be sure to check out the show notes for a link to a free worksheet pack to further explore the Christmas Tree Suite, and join Gena for a live lesson with her Music in Our Homeschool Plus members. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this festive episode with your homeschooling community. Let the music of Liszt bring a little extra joy and beauty to your holiday season!

Find all links and resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/christmas-tree-suite-franz-liszt/

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Transcript

Liszt and his Christmas Tree Suite

[00:00:00] Hi, everyone. Welcome to Music in Our Homeschool, where we bring the joy of music into your home. I'm Gena Mayo, and I'm so excited to share a special episode today all about Franz Liszt and his Christmas Tree Suite. This is the perfect topic for holiday season, blending some music, history, theory, and some creative fun that you can enjoy with your whole homeschool family.

So grab a cozy blanket, maybe a cup of hot cocoa and let's dive into the magical world of Liszt and his Christmas inspired music. 

Let's start out by meeting Franz Liszt. He was born in 1811 in Hungary, a small village where his father worked as a musician. Liszt's talent for music showed up early.

So early, in fact, that by the age of six, he was already playing the piano. By nine, he was performing in concerts. Imagine a little boy sitting at a grand piano, amazing audiences with his skill and [00:01:00] expression. As Liszt grew older, he became one of the most famous musicians in Europe. People called him a piano virtuoso because he could play so fast and with such great feeling that it almost seemed impossible. Crowds would scream and cheer and even faint at his concerts. Yes, faint. This phenomenon became so popular it was nicknamed Lisztomania, kind of like how we think of Beatlemania or fans at a Taylor Swift concert today. But there was more to List than his fame. He was also a composer who wrote music that stretched the limits of what the piano could do.

And he was generous. He taught students for free and donated money to causes he cared about, like schools and hospitals. He believed music was a gift to share with others. 

Now let's turn our focus to talking specifically about the Christmas Tree Suite. [00:02:00] He wrote this collection of 12 short piano pieces as a gift for his granddaughter, Daniela.

Isn't that sweet? It's like writing a musical Christmas card to someone you love. Each piece in the suite has its own story to tell. Some are based on Christmas carols like O Holy Night, while others are playful dances or peaceful winter scenes. Together they create a musical portrait of Christmas. 

Let's highlight three of the pieces. Oh Holy Night starts out softly, almost like a prayer. Liszt uses dynamics, soft and loud sounds to create a feeling of peace and awe. Another piece called Scherzoso means playful. And you can hear it in the light, bouncy rhythms. It's almost like a Christmas party in musical form. And then another piece called The Shepherds at the Manger has a calm, simple [00:03:00] melody. Liszt uses a minor key to give it a reflective and peaceful feeling, as if we're standing quietly by the manger on Christmas Eve. 

Here's some fun facts about Franz Liszt I think you'll enjoy. He was a piano destroyer. He played the piano with such passion and strength that sometimes he broke strings during his performances. He played so intensely that he even wore out a piano itself. 

Liszt had some great travel adventures. He never stayed in one place for very long. He traveled all over Europe giving concerts, sometimes performing as many as 300 concerts a year.

And he was a kind teacher. Even though he was famous, he never charged money for his piano lessons. He wanted anyone with a love of music to have a chance to learn. 

Here's a quote from Liszt that shows how deeply he believed in the power of [00:04:00] music. "Music is the heart of life. She speaks love. Without it, there is no possible good. And with it, everything is beautiful." 

Now let's dig into some music theory concepts that you can explore in the Christmas Tree Suite. Don't worry, this will be fun. Dynamics. As you're listening, notice how Liszt uses soft sounds, which is called piano, and loud sounds, called forte, to create emotions. For example, in O Holy Night, the soft beginning feels peaceful, while the louder part feels joyful and triumphant. 

Another musical concept we can explore is major and minor tonalities. Major keys often sound happy, like sunshine on a bright morning. Minor keys, on the other hand, can feel sad, mysterious, or reflective. As you listen to The Shepherds at the Manger, you can hear how [00:05:00] the minor key makes it feel calm and thoughtful. 

And then there's thematic transformation. Liszt loved to take a simple melody and transform it. He might make it faster or slower or louder or softer to create a new feeling. You can try this at home by singing or playing a simple Christmas carol and then changing either the speed, to go faster or slower or the dynamics to go louder or softer.

Here's some fun activities you could do with your family to bring Liszt's Christmas Tree Suite to life. Draw the music while you're listening. Pick one piece from the suite, like Scherzoso or The Angels at the Manger, and ask your kids to draw what they imagined they are listening to. Is it a Christmas tree? Is it a snowy scene? 

Another thing you could do is to create your own Christmas suite. Imagine you're writing a musical story about Christmas. What would you name your pieces? [00:06:00] Maybe Decorating the Christmas Tree or Snowball Fight? 

Guess the mood. Play a short melody from the suite and ask, does this sound like major or minor? Is it happy or sad sounding? 

And then match the dynamics. You can ask your kids to stand up as the music gets louder or sit down as the music gets softer. 

Now as we're wrapping up today, why should we remember Franz Liszt? He wasn't just a great musician, he was a pioneer who changed the way that people thought about music.

His generosity and creativity remind us that music isn't just entertainment, it's a way for us to connect with each other and make the world more beautiful. I hope you've enjoyed learning about Franz Liszt and his Christmas Tree Suite. Be sure to head over to the show notes or description so you can find my blog post that has the music there for you to listen to.

I [00:07:00] really hope that you will take some time to listen to the music with your family and do one of these fun activities I've mentioned today. And as you do, think about the story Liszt might have been telling and the emotions you feel while you're listening. 

Thank you so much for joining me on the Music at Our Homeschool podcast today. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with your homeschooling friends. You can find a link to a free worksheet pack in the show notes that will help you explore the Christmas Tree Suite even further. 

And one more thing I want to tell you about. This Wednesday, if you're hearing the podcast on Monday, I'm teaching a live lesson about the Christmas Tree Suite with my Music in Our Homeschool Plus members. You can join the membership by heading to MusicinOurHomeschool.com/membership and do the live lesson with us through Zoom. It's super fun and I give even more [00:08:00] details and talk about more pieces than we talked about today on the episode. So until next time, I'm Gena Mayo and I wish you and your family a joyful holiday season filled with music and love.

Find all links and resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/christmas-tree-suite-franz-liszt/