Holy Smoke
Best of the Spectator
Holy Smoke: Charles Owen on hearing God through Liszt
- Published
- October 11, 2026
- Duration
- 26:06
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Oct 28, 2026
Discusses daily, society, culture.
Summary
Franz Liszt is remembered as one of the great showmen of the 19th century: a dazzling virtuoso, breaker of pianos and notorious womaniser who inspired a frenzy among his admirers. But a profound Catholic faith ran through his life, which found an increasingly powerful expression in his music. For this Holy Smoke episode, Damian Thompson is joined by the a…
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Show notes
Franz Liszt is remembered as one of the great showmen of the 19th century: a dazzling virtuoso, breaker of pianos and notorious womaniser who inspired a frenzy among his admirers. But a profound Catholic faith ran through his life, which found an increasingly powerful expression in his music. For this Holy Smoke episode, Damian Thompson is joined by the award-winning British pianist Charles Owen, whose new album De Profundis explores the sacred music of both Liszt and César Franck. Owen explains
Themes
- daily
- society
- culture