Lisztomania

Chapter 11 of James Joyce's Ulysses is a real treasure trove of existing and invented words and names; each word and name triggers off a whole series of associations, images, stories and sounds – particularly when the reader is a Hungarian composer who comes across the phrase “Liszt’s rhapsodies”. I immediately heard music by Franz Liszt in my head and visualised the two protagonists in the novel sitting on a terrace drinking coffee, chatting and dreaming, witty and endearing – which is also a perfect description of this small piano composition for four hands. Peter Eötvös