Carl Tausig was a Polish pianist and composer of the mid-19th century. He was the most famous student of Franz Liszt, and one of the greatest pianists in history. Tausig was born in Warsaw in 1841 to a Jewish family. He received his first musical training from his father, Aloys, who was also an accomplished pianist and composer. At the age of 14, Tausig traveled with his father to the home of Franz Liszt in Weimar hoping to become one of his students. Liszt initially refused Tausig, but he changed his mind after hearing the boy play the piano. Liszt was very impressed and invited Tausig to live in his house and study with him. Tausig became Liszt's favorite student, and eventually their lessons expanded to composition and orchestration. Tausig made his debut in Berlin in 1858, and while his audiences were impressed with his technical abilities, they were less enthusiastic about his sense of musicality. Regardless of their criticism, he continued performing in this style until around 1862, when he formed an orchestra for the purpose of performing new music. The concerts were not very popular, and the project was a financial failure. For nearly two years, Tausig stopped performing, and he redefined his artistic vision and matured as a musician. He was married to pianist Seraphine von Vrabely from 1864 to 1865, and they lived together in Berlin during that time. Over the next few years, Tausig started a school for advanced piano students, and he helped finance the construction of Richard Wagner's Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. He also composed several works for orchestra, instructional pieces for piano, and piano transcriptions. Tausig lost interest in teaching within his first year and returned to his career as a performer. At this stage in his development, critics agreed that his playing had matured with both expressive musicality and dazzling technique. Around 1869 he became more interested in composing, and in 1870 he completed his Deux Études de concert, Op. 1. The following year, Tausig contracted typhoid and passed away. In modern times, his works have been recorded by Rudolf Buchbinder, Wibi Soerjadi, and Abdiel Vázquez, and his Tägliche Studien collection continues to be a valuable resource for advanced pianists. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi