Listomaniya - a disease, a fashion or an innocuous hobby?

Listomania is a term that is used to describe insanity and mass hysteria while listening to music. The name of the phenomenon was received in honor of the famous composer Ferenc Liszt, who during his peak popularity made people go crazy about their works. The culmination of musical insanity was achieved in Berlin in 1841, after a sensational series of musician concerts. The behavior of the audience could be compared to mass insanity. Few modern pianists can boast of such an achievement.

Listomaniya - what is it?

The term "leafomania" was invented by the German writer Heinrich Heine. This was the name of the mass hysteria seen after List's concert. Women wore brooches with the image of a pianist, sought to get trimmed his hair, fainted during concerts. The ladies laughed and cried, threw their handkerchiefs into their idol and fell to his feet, trying to grab some of the clothes for memory. On hearing, there was one very entertaining story about how one maid of honor pulled his cigarette butt from a gutter and wore it in a diamond-encrusted vial, although others were terrified of the unpleasant smell. Obviously, everyone was simply seized with momentary hysteria, one might say, leafomania - it was a kind of tribute to fashion.

A year later, when List returned to Germany, he was extremely disappointed with the low attendance of his concert. Probably, every former admirer of his talent was embarrassed, looking back at his last year's behavior, and avoided it in every possible way. The composer's incredible success in Berlin is attributed to the productive work of his manager, Bellini, who was apparently a very gifted advertiser and coordinator of his concerts and created a lot of buzz around the arrival of the celebrity. A great excitement was caused by his trip to Russia. In 1842 he played a concert in the noble assembly hall. The pianist played two pianos, changing alternately from one place to another, so that all the spectators could see him.

Reviews of the enchanted audience

Vladimir Stasov, a Russian critic of the time, was extremely fascinated by the composer's performance and described it as fantastic. He wrote interestingly about the concert: "Bowing low in all directions, the pianist heard such a noise of applause, which probably was not heard in Petersburg since 1703. He sat down at the piano, and instantly a dead silence settled in the hall. Never before did the public meet with such a brilliant, passionate and slightly demonic temperament that flew like a whirlwind full of tender beauty and grace. "

The virtuoso performed so violently, so violently that he could even damage the instrument he was playing. The critic wrote that this date, April 8, 1842, will forever remain sacred to him, and he will not forget a second about this day until his last breath. One listener, describing the listening experience of Liszt's "Grand Gallop", wrote about the incredible richness of harmony, an incredibly fast pace, beyond which it is impossible to keep track. If someone decides to dance to this melody, in the end he will just fall to the ground unconscious.

Causes of leaf mania

The sheet had an amazingly powerful effect simply by its appearance. The applause that greeted him was incredibly furious. The bouquets were thrown at his feet. It was a real sensation. What is the real reason for this phenomenon? Sheetomania is more pathology than aesthetics? The magical magnetism of music, which was called spiritual illness, led people into mass ecstasy. Listomaniya - what is it? Is it possible to give a reasonable explanation for the popularity of the pianist in Berlin?

Apparently, the Prussian royal family was going through a difficult period. And before the composer's arrival, social life in the city was very dreary and monotonous. Berlin and carnival, in essence, were incompatible. In everything there was strictness, order and regularity. Sheetomania is a reaction to the crisis of society and social unhappiness. Political oppression led people to throw at any kind of public entertainment. End leafomania dates from January 1843. Franz Liszt gave many more concerts for the poor and disadvantaged, as well as for the notable public. In 1845, before he was overtaken by the disease, he performed in honor of the Queen and King of Prussia.

Modern leaf manganism

Is leafomania a disease or an innocuous hobby? The modern wording of the term describes it as a need to listen to music all the time. Earlier, in the 1840s, this phenomenon was considered a contagious disease. Hysterical passion for music has become a real social phenomenon of that time. Now it is considered no more than a fashionable hobby that people after 20 years begin to gradually fade. They mostly enjoy music when they are teenagers. And the louder it sounds, the better. As a rule, with adulthood it goes away.