Franz Liszt

About Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a towering figure in 19th-century Romantic music, renowned as perhaps the most brilliant pianist of his age. His historical importance stems not only from his virtuosic performances, which often stunned audiences, but also from his significant role as a composer and a transformative figure in the development of the symphonic poem. MIT’s Pantheon project recognizes this profound influence by ranking him #426 among history’s most influential figures globally.

Despite his high historical rank, Liszt’s modern internet attention registers at a modest 636K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places his Attention Gap at approximately 1x, suggesting his current online visibility is roughly proportional to his historical weight, which is relatively narrow compared to some of his peers. For contrast, the contemporary musician John Lennon (#591 importance) commanded 4.2M views in the same year, illustrating a considerable divergence in online recall between classical influence and modern celebrity.

Liszt’s 2025 data shows a small decline, with year-over-year views dropping by -8.3%, and his Q1 to Q3 momentum registered at 0%. This indicates a stable, albeit slightly receding, level of contemporary digital interest for this foundational musician.