Adam Liszt was a Hungarian amateur musician. He was born on December 16, 1776, in Edelstal, then in the Austrian Empire. He studied at schools in Kittsee and Pressburg, received music lessons from Franz Riegler, and later studied philosophy at the University of Pressburg. During his brief university studies, he played cello in an orchestra and sang bass in a choir.
Financial difficulties led Liszt to leave his studies and enter the service of Prince Miklós Esterházy in 1798. After several years in estate-management posts, he was transferred to Eisenstadt in 1805, where he could devote his spare time to music. He played in orchestras led by Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Luigi Cherubini, and on one occasion performed in an orchestra conducted by Beethoven. Liszt also composed a Te Deum for choir and 16 instruments. From 1809 he managed the prince’s sheep farm at Raiding and later oversaw large flocks and estate staff.
In 1811, Liszt married Maria Anna Lager. Their only known child, Franz Liszt, was born that October. Adam recognized his son’s musical ability, taught him the basics of keyboard playing, notation, sight-reading, and improvisation, and sought more advanced instruction for him. He secured lessons with Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri in Vienna, then with Ferdinando Paer and Antonín Reicha in Paris.
Liszt organized his son’s early concerts and European tours, managing performances in Vienna, Paris, London, and cities across Europe. After the family moved to Vienna in 1822, he arranged performances that helped support Franz’s education; in Paris, he also organized the public appearances and salon engagements that established the boy’s reputation. Adam Liszt died in Boulogne-sur-Mer on August 28, 1827, and was buried there.