''Dreams of Love – Liszt'' (, also known in English as ''The Loves of Liszt'') is a Hungarian-Soviet epic musical/drama produced and

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

Márton Keleti Márton Keleti (27 April 1905 – 20 June 1973) was a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. He directed 50 films between 1937 and 1973. His 1959 film ''Yesterday (1959 film), Yesterday'' was entered into the 1st Moscow International Fil ...

, based on the biography of the Hungarian composer and pianist

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. While the movie was criticized for some of its historical inaccuracies, its epic scope and intense scenes of virtuoso musical performances won wide praise and has been credited with affecting the cultural landscape of the 1970s Eastern Europe.

Plot summary

An epic film about the Hungarian

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He is an international star giving performances all over Europe and goes on a concert tour to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia. Liszt's brilliant piano playing impressed the Russian royalty and aristocracy. Even the Russian Tsar stops talking when Liszt plays his piano. Liszt becomes a friend of the Russian composer Glinka. Liszt's beautiful music touches everyone's heart. Women are pursuing him and his lengthy affair with countess

Marie d'Agoult Marie Catherine Sophie, Comtesse d'Agoult (born de Flavigny; 31 December 18055 March 1876), was a French romanticism, romantic author and historian, known also by her pen name, Daniel Stern. Life Marie was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, w ...

is in trouble. In Russia, Liszt meets the beautiful Princess Carolyne, they fall in love, and she soon leaves her husband for Liszt. She becomes a

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

and inspiration for Liszt, and his last and strongest love. Inspired by his love for Carolyne, Liszt creates the most beautiful romantic piano composition, " Liebestraum" (also known as "Dream of Love") dedicated to her, and the piece becomes a classic hit. But the church does not allow Liszt to marry Carolyne, because she could not terminate her first marriage. The unmarried couple moves to the city of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, where Liszt becomes the music director for the royal orchestra. This becomes the most productive and happy period in Liszt's life. The brilliant pianist and composer Franz Liszt becomes a superstar. He tours many countries and makes people happy with his music, albeit his love life is in trouble. Carolyne cannot terminate her marriage while her husband is alive. Her relatives are against Liszt. She and Liszt remain unmarried, and Liszt suffers from emotional pain until the end of his life. Being loved by the public, Liszt is never really happy in his personal life, so he expresses himself making beautiful music.

Cast

* Imre Sinkovits as ''

'' *

Ariadna Shengelaya Ariadna Vsevolodovna Shengelaya (née Shprink) (; born 13 January 1937) is a Soviet actress. She appeared in 33 films between 1957 and 1997. She was married to the Georgian film director Eldar Shengelaya from 1957 to 1980. The actress of opule ...

as ''

Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (née Iwanowska, ; 8 February 18199 March 1887) was a Polish noblewoman who is best known for her 40-year relationship with musician Franz Liszt. She was also an amateur journalist and essayist. It is conj ...

'' * Sándor Pécsi as ''Gaetano Belloni, Liszt's secretary'' * Klara Luchko as ''

'' * Igor Dmitriev as ''prince Nikolay Petrovich Wittgenstein'' * Larisa Trembovelskaya as ''

Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludw ...

'' *

Tamás Major Tamás Major (26 January 1910 – 13 April 1986) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. He also acted as the director of the Hungarian National Theatre from 1945 to 1962. Selected filmography * ''A szüz és a gödölye'' (1941) - István, Hube ...

as ''Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

'' * Klári Tolnay as '' Cosima, Liszt's daughter'' *

Lajos Básti Lajos Básti (17 November 1911 – 1 June 1977) was a Hungarian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1935 to 1977. Selected filmography References External links * 1911 births 1977 deaths Hungarian male film actors ...

as ''

Ágoston Trefort Dr. Ágoston Trefort (pronunciation: a:gɔʃtɔn 'trɛfɔrt 7 February 1817 – 22 August 1888) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education from 1872 until his death. He was the President of the Hungarian Acad ...

'' *

Ferenc Bessenyei Ferenc Bessenyei (10 February 1919 – 27 December 2004) was a Hungarian actor and singer. He began his career in the choir at National Theatre of Szeged in 1940 and became one of Hungary's most respected stage performers. As singer he app ...

as ''

Mihály Vörösmarty Mihály Vörösmarty (archaically English: Michael Vorosmarthy 1 December 180019 November 1855) was a Hungarians, Hungarian poet and dramatist who lived and worked in the Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867), Kingdom of Hungary. Biography He was ...

'' *

Ádám Szirtes Ádám Szirtes (born Ádám Szvitek February 10, 1925 – July 27, 1989) was a Hungarian actor. Selected filmography * '' Treasured Earth'' (1948) * ''The Marriage of Katalin Kis'' (1950) * '' The Land Is Ours'' (1951) * '' Battle in Peace'' ...

as ''Miska, Liszt's servant'' * Petr Shelokhonov as ''

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...

, Russian composer'' * Sándor Suka as ''

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, Austrian composer'' * Natalya Baytalskaya as ''

Vera Timanova Vera Viktorovna Timanova (18 February 185522 February 1942) was a Russian pianist. Vera Timanova was born into a well-to-do family in Ufa, where she spent her childhood. She showed musical aptitude at an early age, and at age six began taking ...

'' * Gennady Bednostin * Irina Gubanova as ''Olga Yanina'' * Tibor Bitskey as ''Liszt's friend'' * Kornél Gelley as ''priest'' * Peter Huszti as ''

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

'' * Sergei Ivanov as

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

György Kálmán György () is a Hungarian version of the name ''George''. Some notable people with this given name: * György Alexits (1899–1978), Hungarian mathematician * György Almásy (1867–1933), Hungarian asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnogr ...

as ''police officer'' * Sergei Karnovich-Valua as

Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Charles Frederick (; 2 February 1783 – 8 July 1853) was the reigning Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Biography Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstad ...

* Zsolt Kocsy as ''Franz Liszt in his childhood'' * Ivan Kolejev * Valentin Kulik as ''

Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family Thalberg was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. Thalberg asserted that he ...

'' * Vasili Leonov as ''

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...

'' *

Gábor Mádi Szabó Gábor Mádi Szabó (1922–2003) was a Hungarian actor. Selected filmography * '' Mrs. Szabó'' (1949) * '' A Woman Gets a Start'' (1949) * '' Battle in Peace'' (1952) * '' The Sea Has Risen'' (1953) * '' Rakoczy's Lieutenant'' (1954) * '' Wa ...

as ''Liszt's father'' * Vera Szemere as ''Liszt's mother'' *

László Márkus László Márkus (10 June 1927 – 30 December 1985) was a Hungarian actor. He appeared in over 90 films and television shows between 1952 and 1985. He starred in the 1985 film '' Első kétszáz évem'', which was entered into the 36th Ber ...

as '' Miklós Esterházy'' * Sergei Polezhayev as ''courtier'' * Emmanuil Schwarzberg * Anatoli Shvedersky as '' Gustav Adolf, Cardinal Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillinsgfürst'' * Bertalan Solti * Géza Tordy as ''

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; ; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works an ...

'' * Marina Yurasova as '' Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia'' *

Éva Ruttkai Éva Ruttkai (31 December 1927 – 27 September 1986) was a Hungarian actress, well known from her work on stage, cinema, and television productions. She was the wife of Miklós Gábor, and later Zoltán Latinovits. Life Éva Ruttkai (born Év ...

(voice dubbing for the character of Carolyne in the Hungarian version) *

Ildikó Pécsi Ildikó Pécsi (21 May 1940 – 5 December 2020) was a Hungarian actress. She appeared in more than one hundred films since 1961. Selected filmography References External links * 1940 births 2020 deaths People from Hajdú-Bihar Co ...

(voice dubbing for the character of Lola Montez in the Hungarian version)

Production

* This is a joint Hungarian-Soviet production of MAFILM Studio 3 and Lenfilm Studio. * Production dates: 1968–1970. * Filmed in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. * Liszt's historic performance in Russia was filmed at St. Petersburg Bolshoi Philharmonic Hall. *

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time,Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his interpreta ...

plays piano for the character of Liszt, including études and the famous " Liebestraum". * The Hungarian version runtime is 174 minutes. * The Soviet version is reduced down to 150 minutes, with some scenes deleted. * The American version is reduced to 130 minutes, with many scenes deleted. * Released in 1970 in Hungary and the Soviet Union. * Released on September 29, 1972, in Finland, and in December 1975, in the USA.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreams of Love - Liszt 1970 films 1970s biographical drama films 1970s Soviet films Russian-language biographical drama films Russian-language historical romance films Russian-language historical musical films Russian-language historical drama films Russian-language romantic musical films Russian-language musical drama films Russian-language romantic drama films Soviet biographical drama films Soviet historical drama films Soviet historical musical films Soviet musical drama films Soviet romantic drama films Russian biographical drama films Hungary–Soviet Union relations 1970s Hungarian-language films 1970s Russian-language films 1970s romantic musical films Films set in the 19th century Films directed by Márton Keleti Cultural depictions of Nicholas I of Russia Cultural depictions of Franz Liszt Cultural depictions of Lola Montez Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Biographical films about musicians Lenfilm films Hungarian multilingual films Soviet multilingual films 1970 multilingual films Hungarian biographical drama films 1970 drama films Films scored by Ferenc Farkas 1970 musical films