Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh----

Philip of Greece
Duke of Edinburgh

Philip of Greece
Duke of Edinburgh.
(1921-Present)
Prince of Greece & Denmark
Prince of the United Kingdom 1957.

Son of: Andrew of Greece & Denmark & Alice von Battenberg.

Husband of: Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, mar 1947.

Philip & Elizabeth
@ Pinterest

The gifts of a charmer: "Prince Philip is attractive to women. He has the gifts of a charmer: he listens, he laughs, he looks into your eyes, he takes you seriously, he makes you feel he wants your company. He never looks over shoulder to see if someone more interesting is coming along." (Telegraph)

The Duke of Edinburgh's fan club.
" . . . For those not in the know, the Tatler published 'The royal Collection,' which provided the names, biographies, and photographs of thirteen women described as 'the Duke of Edinburgh's fan club.' The list included minor British stars but omitted major American ones like Jane Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Shirley MacLaine. The British aristocrats included two Princesses, one Duchess, one Countess, and five titled ladies, including the seventy-year-old wife of one of the Queen's former equerries. 'That's an appalling image of my mother-in-law---in bed with Prince Philip.' pooh-poohed the woman's son-in-law. 'It's like Love Among the Ruins.'" (The Royals: 423)

"Among numerous other women alleged to have featured in Philip’s extramarital love life were Jane, Countess of Westmorland, widow of the Queen’s late Master of the Horse; the novelist Dame Daphne du Maurier; the actresses Merle Oberon and Anna Massey; and TV personality Katie Boyle." (Daily Mail)

They said, everybody said. . . : "Other women with whom he is said to have dallied include his cousin Princess Alexandra, Italian Countess Bonnie Frescobadi, actress Anna Massey, Canadian Osla Benning, who later married Lord Henniker, and Jane, Countess of Westmorland." (Independent)

Linked with many women: "Over the years Philip's name has been linked with many women, from the late.......

The wifey knew about it! And she was into it, too!!: "Elizabeth had known that Prince Philip chased other women including the late Helene Cordet, TV star Katie Boyle, actress Anna Massey, Jane Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Shirley Maclaine, Merle Oberon (Duchess of Abercorn?), the Countess of Westmorland, the late Susie (sic) Barrantes (Sarah Ferguson's mother), Patti Kulge, Christina Ford and many polo wives. However, The Queen also became romantically involved with another man, Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon (Lord Porchester)." (Yahoo Answers)

That's how men are, wifey says: "However, Sarah Bradford, author of Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times, was more forthright. 'The Duke of Edinburgh has had affairs,' she said in an (sic) 2011 interview, 'yes, full-blown affairs and more than one. He has affairs and the Queen accepts it. I think she thinks that's how men are.'" (Belfast Telegraph)

The rumours were . . . : "After Kirkwood and Cordet, numerous other famous and beautiful women have been alleged to have been Philip's lovers. They include the Countess of Westmorland, wife of the Queen's Master of the Horse, the novelist Daphne du Maurier, wife of the Comptroller of the Royal Household, the actresses Merle Oberon and Anna Massey, the TV personality Katie Boyle, the Duchess of York's mother, Susan Barrantes, the Duchess of Abercorn, wife of the Lord Steward of the Royal Household, the Queen's first cousin, Princess Alexandra and Philip's glamorous carriage-driving companion, Lady Romsey." (Daily Mail)

And the real situations were . . .: "Of these, Daphne du Maurier was merely a casual acquaintance. Katie Boyle has rubbished suggestions of intimacy. Anna Massey met Philip only once socially. And the Duchess of Abercorn, while admitting to 'a highly charged chemistry' with Philip, denied any physical relationship, adding that 'the passion was in the ideas.'" (Daily Mail)

"Since the '50s and '60s — the time period largely focused on in the show — there are many persistent reports of Philip's affairs, all of which were always denied by the Palace on grounds of no evidence. However, many biographers have repeatedly pointed to romantic relations with other women, notably a mystery woman who was once seen boarding the royal yacht Britannia on an overseas tour. In addition to this, during the early years of his marriage, Prince Philip was also accused of conducting extra-martial affairs with Greek cabaret singer Hélène Cordet, several actresses, a renowned female novelist and even the Queen's own cousin, Princess Alexandra. And although none of these relations have ever been proven, they continue to cast a shadow on the reputation of the British Royal Family." (Movie Pilot)

Over more than seven decades, Philip has been accused of liaisons with a Greek cabaret singer, several actresses, three peeresses of the realm, a famous TV personality, a renowned female novelist and the Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra. It has also been claimed he has fathered 24 illegitimate children — and even that he once had a gay fling with the former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Thar absurd suggestion aside, it is easy to understand why, at the time of his marriage in 1947, he was pegged as a potential philanderer." (Press Reader)

"And at the end of the war, by then a bearded Adonis with a taste for dancing, he had joyous flings with three girls while in Australia (a certain boathouse in Sydney, owned by a titled friend, was apparently the setting for his sexual dalliances). There was a society beauty, Sue Other-Gee; a close friend, Georgina Kennard; and Sandra Jacques, about whom little is known other than that it was ‘a very full love affair’. . . ." (Press Reader)

Philip's physical appearance & personal qualities: "Tall and athletic with the looks of a Viking god, Philip at 17 was already attractive to women. Aspasia’s daughter, Alexandra, described him as “very amusing, gay, full of life and energy and a tease.” He reminded her of “a huge, hungry dog; perhaps a friendly collie who never had a basket of his own and responded to every overture with eager tail-wagging.'" (Telegraph)

His lovers were:

1) Princess Alexandra of Kent.

"Rumours Philip had a relationship with the Queen’s first cousin, Princess Alexandra, are especially distasteful. Her late husband, Sir Angus Ogilvy, described Philip as ‘a good man, a really good man, hopelessly misreported, misrepresented and misunderstood’. In 2003, the Queen appointed Princess Alexandra as a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter, a great honour that she would have been unlikely to bestow on her husband’s lover." (Daily Mail)

2) Anna Massey.

British actress.

"Of these, I know Anna Massey only met Philip once socially and never saw him again. Du Maurier, whom I knew well, met the Queen and Philip occasionally during the years her husband, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning, was Comptroller of their household. Daphne was invited to Balmoral but was never a close friend of the royal couple." (Daily Mail)

3) Bonnie Frescobaldi.

Italian aristocrat.

4) Cobina Wright.

"One girl, Cobina Wright, began to stand out from the rest and Philip begged his aunt to be allowed to stay out in the boat a little longer. “Very well”, she agreed. “But you are to cruise round and round the island and don’t stop the engine! I shall be listening.” Alexandra was listening, too, and after three or four circuits the engine went silent and remained so for the next five minutes. Philip’s explanation was that they had had “trouble with the sparking plugs.'  Cobina Wright was a budding American actress whose pushy mother, also called Cobina, was among those who entertained Philip during his time in Venice. Cobina Wright Senior organised debutante parties in New York and was grooming her daughter for a film career capped by a spectacular marriage. Cobina was two months younger than Philip – they both turned 17 that summer – tall, slim and blonde with huge blue eyes and a radiant smile. By 1938, she was already under contract with 20th Century Fox while also modelling and singing in nightclubs. The next year, she won the title of Miss Manhattan and was named “most attractive and talented New York girl of the 1939 season.' Her first meeting with Philip was at Harry’s Bar, and Cobina later recalled that, on seeing the prince, her mother had “shoved” her into his arms. Over the next three weeks, Philip escorted Cobina around Venice, spending “passionate evenings in gondolas on the Grand Canal”, before following her back to London. Her friend, Gant Gaither, the Broadway producer, later maintained that Philip wrote her impassioned love letters and “desperately wanted to marry her, but [in the end] Cobina Jr just wasn’t all that interested.” She married a wealthy American corporal, Palmer Beaudette, instead. Interviewed by the American Town and Country magazine in 1973, she revealed that in her bedroom she kept photographs of the three loves of her life, one of them being Philip."
(Telegraph)

4) Daphne Du Maurier.

5) Helene Cordet (1924-1996)

Greek cabaret singer.

Wife of:

1. William N. Kirby

2. Marcel Boisot.

The first 'mistress' to be mentioned: " . . . Then there was the Helene Cordet affair, which surfaced right before the wedding, when she was described in the French press as the 'mystery blonde divorcee' whom Philip had visited in Paris the year before. Since then, Helene is always the first name mentioned as one of Philip's mistresses and the mother of his illegitimate children. If course, he and Helene claim that they're merely childhood friends who grew up together in Paris. He gave her away when she married the first time in 1938, and he's godfather to both her children, so who knows?'" (The Royals: 75-76)

Helene's economics professor son to the rescue: "He's even rumoured to have had a number of children out of wedlock, one of whom, Max Boisot, was sufficiently annoyed some time ago to issue an official denial that Philip was his father from the depths of China where he was living. His mother was a French singer called Helene Cordet, who had known Prince Philip since childhood. . . ." (Independent)

Godfather? Father? Who knows?: "Not only Kirkwood was linked with him romantically, but also his childhood friend, the Greek cabaret star Helene Cordet, who had two children by her future second husband while separated from her first husband, but declined at the time to name the father. When Philip elected to become godfather to both children, it was instantly assumed that he must be their father. Many years later, Cordet's son, Max, who became a professor of economics, was finally provoked into issuing a public statement denying this utterly." (Daily Mail)

No, they're not an item!: "Philip and Helene [Cordet] were friends, not lovers. He is not the father of her children. Rumours started because, when her son Max was born, Helene was still married to William Kirby, though they had lived apart for two years. At the time, no one knew about Marcel Boisot [her lover at the time that Max was born in 1943]. Helene allowed the paternity of her children to remain a mystery. Even in her memoir, Born Bewildered, published in 1961, years later, she does not name him. I get the impression (though she denied it) that Helene Cordet rather relished the frisson created by the rumours surrounding her friendship with Prince Philip. I get the impression Prince Philip thinks so, too, and it irritates him." (Telegraph)

"Philip and Helene [Cordet] were friends, not lovers. He is not the father of her children. Rumours started because, when her son Max was born, Helene was still married to William Kirby, though they had lived apart for two years. At the time, no one knew about Marcel Boisot [her lover at the time that Max was born in 1943]. Helene allowed the paternity of her children to remain a mystery. Even in her memoir, Born Bewildered, published in 1961, years later, she does not name him. I get the impression (though she denied it) that Helene Cordet rather relished the frisson created by the rumours surrounding her friendship with Prince Philip. I get the impression Prince Philip thinks so, too, and it irritates him." (Telegraph)

"There was also concern over the nature of his relationship with a childhood friend, the Greek-born cabaret star Hélène Cordet. While she was separated from her first husband, Cordet had two children by a French airman, Marcel Boisot, who became her second husband. Owing to her uncertain marital circumstances, Cordet declined to reveal the children’s paternity, and when Prince Philip became godfather to both, it was assumed he was the father.

This belief persisted until 1989, when Cordet’s son, the economist Professor Max Boisot, openly dismissed the idea as ‘ridiculous’." (Press Reader)

Helene's personal & family background: "Adler smiles and shrugs when talking about his old friend's relationship with Helene Cordet, who worked in a Paris dress shop before moving to London to open a nightclub and become a cabaret singer. Her parents, staunch Greek royalists, had helped support Philip's parents during their exile in France when Philip was growing up. 'Mercifully, he spared us the personal details of his relationship with Helene,' said Adler in 1992. 'But we made certain assumptions at the time, and whether we were right or wrong, we understood why the King was agitated about his daughter falling in love with a bounder like our old pal. As I told Philip then, be glad your zipper can't talk.'" (The Royals: 76)

6) Jane, Countess of Westmorland.

7) Katie Boyle (1926-Present)

Lover in the 1950s.

Italian aristocrat, actress, presenter, writer & celebrated beauty.

Daughter of: Marchese Demetrio Imperiali di Francavilla & Dorothy Kate Ramsden.

Wife of:

1. Richard Bentinck Boyle, 9th Earl of Shannon, mar 1945, div 1955.

2. Greville Pollard Baylis (d.1976), British racehorse owner, mar 1955.

3. Sir Peter Saunders (1911-2003), mar 1980

"Katie Boyle, a celebrated beauty from the 1950s, is another good-looking woman regularly mentioned in dispatches as one of Philip's flings, particularly in a book called Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who is Not Amused by Nicholas Davies. Boyle was a TV personality in the late 1950s and 1960s, and presented the Eurovision Song Contest the first time it has held in Britain in 1960. In those days, broadcasting tended to have cut-glass accents, and Boyle had that in spades. She was born Caterina Irene Elena Maria Imperiali di Francavilla, the daughter of an Italian aristocrat and her frist husband was Richard Bentinck Boyle, 9th Earl of Shannon, Viscount Boyle, of Bandon and Baron of Castle Martyr, Co Cork. According to Davies'd book, Philip's affair with Boyle was very steamy and they had the most extraordinary times together. 'Yes, I've met Prince Philip several times,' Boyle has said. 'I think he's the most fantastic man. I love his dryness. But an affair? It's ludicrous, pure fabrication. When it appears in prince, people believe it. You can't talk legal action because it fans the flames, so you just have to accept people telling complete lies about you.'" (Independent)

Pure fabrication: "Katie Boyle certainly met Philip several times, but has described suggestions of an affair as ‘pure fabrication’ and utterly denied a story that the Prince once rapidly exited through the back entrance of her house as her husband arrived at the front. It is true that Hollywood beauty Merle Oberon, who was ten years Philip’s senior, kept a signed photograph of him in a silver frame and entertained him lavishly at her estate in Mexico City. But Merle’s couturier, Luis Estevez, ‘never saw anything romantic going on between them’.' (Daily Mail)

7) Merle Oberon.

American film star.

8) Osla Benning.

Canadian debutante.

"Princess Elizabeth was still only 15, and while she was undoubtedly going to be a catch before long, Philip was free to play the field. Cobina Wright’s place was soon taken by Osla Benning, a beautiful Canadian-born debutante with “dark hair, alabaster white skin, an exquisite figure and a gentle loving nature,” according to her friend Sarah Norton [later Baring]. They met in late 1939, when Osla was living with Sarah, a god-daughter of Dickie [Lord Louis] Mountbatten, Philip’s uncle. Osla was two years younger than Philip and had been brought over from Canada when she was very young, following her glamorous mother’s divorce. Mrs Benning married three more times and Osla’s childhood was, according to her daughter, Janie Spring, lonely, isolated and confusing. Like Philip, she had a weakness for practical jokes and was 'always getting involved in escapades involving itching powder.' After finishing school in Austria, she came out in August 1939, one of the foremost debutantes of her year. They made a startling pair. Philip was: 'Tall, with piercing blue eyes and a shock of blond hair swept back from his forehead,' recalled Eileen Parker, wife of his great friend, Mike Parker. 'I was not at all surprised to hear that every unmarried Wren on the base had her sights on him.' At the time she met Philip, Osla was working at the Hawker-Siddeley aircraft factory in Slough and living in a cottage nearby with Sarah Norton and her father, Lord Grantley, the film-maker and raconteur. Grantley found Philip 'the best of company' and was impressed by his forceful intellect. 'He seemed to be interested in everything; and when asking me questions about films, for instance, he did not want to know about the stars but about the technicalities of how films were made.”" (Telegraph)

"At the age of 18, there had been a romantic friendship — although not a full-blown affair — with Canadian- born debutante Osla Benning." (Press Reader)

9) Pat Kirkwood.

British actress & singer

Lover in 1948.

"It was after one of these gatherings, in October 1948, that Philip’s reputation as a royal Lothario took off. Baron introduced his friend to actress and singer Pat Kirkwood, the highest-paid star on the London stage, with whom the photographer was in love. Her fans included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who invited her to Windsor Castle to perform. Then 27 years old, the sensuous and flirtatious actress with legs once described as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ was separated from her husband. Philip was smitten and he and Kirkwood created a sensation by dining a deux at Les Ambassadeurs restaurant in Mayfair, packed with celebrities and staff who could not tear their eyes away from their table. They went on to dance the night away, cheek to cheek, at the Milroy nightclub and ended up eating scrambled eggs at dawn in Baron’s apartment. This encounter created headlines all over the world. Princess Elizabeth was eight months pregnant with their first child at the time, and the King and Queen were furious on their daughter’s behalf. Pat Kirkwood spent the rest of her life haunted by the ‘Prince and the Showgirl’ label, vehemently denying any impropriety, either then or later. But she became the target of lurid rumours and a claim Philip had given her a white Rolls-Royce. I know for a fact that my friend Pat never owned such a vehicle." (Press Reader)

"But legend or not, Pat Kirkwood lived for six decades under the cloud of suspicion she had been the mistress of Prince Philip. The more she denied the rumour, the more it was believed. Philip himself, adhering to the Royal Family's tradition of declining comment on matters relating to their private lives, failed to come to her defence. He said nothing, one way or the other, despite repeatedly imploring him to set the record straight. And when she died" almost exactly a year ago, after 60 distinguished years of stardom during which she helped to rally the nation's morale in World War II, her life ended devoid of official recognition and without so much as a humble MBE." (Daily Mail)

"A month before his wife gave birth to Charles, Philip was introduced to Pat Kirkwood, 'the first of the showgirls with whom he was rumored to have had an affair,' according to Philip Eade in his biography The Young Prince Philip. The critic Kenneth Tynan once pronounced Kirkwood’s legs to be 'the eighth wonder of the world.'" (The Daily Beast)

10) Penelope Meredith Eastwood.

11) Sacha Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn.

It's Jung's fault!: "'They're the ones people talk about.' 'You mean, women like Sacha Abercorn,' I suggested. 'Yes,' said Mrs. Bradford, putting down her wine glass. 'She is certainly one of them. Philip and Sacha Abercorn certainly had an affair. Without a doubt.' . . . The Duchess of Abercorn is tall, slim and striking. she is quietly spoken: intelligent, articulate and thoughtful. She was born in 1946, the daughter of Lt. Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and Gina Wernher. She is 25 years Philip's junior. 'It was later [after her marriage in 1966] that we became close. It think it was at The gables - when Nicky was running the shoots - that we particularly got interested in each other. What brought us together? Jung. Yes. Jung. I've always been interested in Jung, his work, his ideas. And Philip is interested in Jung. Prince Philip is always questing, exploring, searching for meaning, testing ideas. We had riveting conversation about Jung. That's where our friendship began.'" (Telegraph)

"A British aristocrat has admitted enjoying a 'passionate friendship' and 'highly charged chemistry' with Prince Philip in an authoritative new book on the state of the royal marriage. The Duchess of Abercorn, 58, revealed she had an intimate relationship with the Prince, 83, over two decades from the late 1960s. She denies sleeping with him. The book is by Gyles Brandreth, a former Tory MP, journalist and a long-time friend of Prince Philip, who has been linked to scores of beautiful, aristocratic and often younger women over the decades. The Duchess said she had been the Prince's 'playmate and intellectual partner'. "Our friendship was very close," she said. 'We were close because we understood one another. It was a passionate friendship, but the passion was in the ideas. It was certainly not a full relationship. I did not go to bed with him.'" (The Age)

"Brandreth shines the spotlight on Sacha Hamilton, the Duchess of Abercorn, in particular. She is the daughter of Lady Kennard, reportedly one of the Queen's closest friends, and she married her husband, James, the Duke of Abercorn was appointed Lord Steward to the Royal household in 2001." (Independent)

"The Duchess of Abercorn admitted to royal author Gyles Brandreth, a friend of Philip, that she had a 'passionate friendship' with him for more than 20 years, describing him as someone who 'needs a playmate'. . . Sacha Abercorn was first linked with Philip in 1987 when a newspaper published a picture of him, wearing only a towel, with his arm around her in a swimsuit. According to Brandreth, they have also been seen holding hands at her holiday home in the Bahamas - something she did not deny. . . In the book, published later this month, the Duchess of Abercorn recounts how her friendship with Philip began in the late 1960s with a conversation about the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, in whom they had a shared interest. 'Prince Philip is always questing, exploring, searching for meaning, testing ideas. He asks the difficult questions and that's what drew me to him. 'Yes, he is practical, unsentimental and logical, but he is also emotional and intuitive. He is deeply sensitive. Deeply sensitive. His senses are so supercharged.'" (Evening Standard)

12) Sandra Jacques.

"According to Australian author Robin Dalton, who met Prince Philip back then, he had to special Australian girlfriends, a society girl called Sue Othergee, and then Sandra Jacques. The affair with Jacques was 'a terrific love affair. A very full love affair.'" (Independent)

13) Sue Othergee.

Australian socialite

"Now, Sue Other-Gee has been named in a new book about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as one of his 'special girlfriends' whom he escorted during the war. She spoke lovingly of him to her family, but she was to carry the full truth of her relationship with him to the grave, after she was taken from her home in Sydney's exclusive harbourside suburb of Rose Bay to hospital, where she died of pneumonia 22 years ago, aged 62." (Highbeam)

14) Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

15) Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The Duke of Edinburgh's physical appearance & personal qualities:

"However for the ladies of the Court Philip was 'tall, good-looking, blond, blue-eyed, a royal prince by birth, a Navy-man, a sailor, athletic, funny, fun to be with, sensitive, generous, sometimes slightly cool, a little distant in his bearing, but teasing you all the time, and lovely to children.  Of course everyone was in love with him.'"  (La Stampa)

Prince Philip Gallery.

Andrew of Greece
@ flickr.com

Philip of Greece
@ flickr.com

Prince Philip @ 15
@ tumblr.com

Philip of Greece
@ flickr.com

Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com

Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com

Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com

Prince Philip
@ facebook.com

Prince Philip
@ Daily Mail

Prince Philip
@ Paris Match

Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com

Franz Liszt's Mistresses----

Franz Liszt
@ Musee Carnavalet

Franz Liszt (1811-1886).

Hungarian virtuoso pianist, composer & arranger.

Son of: Adam Liszt, Hungarian musician

Liszt's physical appearance.
". . . In his youth, Liszt---slim, blond, aristocratic, volatile---was breathtakingly good-looking, and physically he was made of iron. His entrance on stage wafs enough to turn all the ladies' heads. . . ." (Great Pianists:168)

"Franz Liszt was quite tall in his generation, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, long blonde hair, piercing sharp eyes, pianist's long narrow and delicate hands and fingers. His body build was very slend-wier." (Franz Liszt's Dangerous Love)

Liszt had many feminine friendships, but was not a vulgar gallant.
The feminine friendships of Franz Liszt gained for him as much notoriety as his music making. To the average public he was a compound of Casanova, Byron and Goethe, and to this mixture could have been added the name of Stendhal. Liszt's love affairs, Liszt's children, Liszt's perilous escapes from daggers, pistols and poisons were the subjects of conversation in Europe three-quarters of a century ago, as earlier Byron was both hero and black-sheep in the current gossip of his time. And as Liszt was in the public eye and ubiquitous — he travelled rapidly over Europe in a post-chaise, often giving two concerts in one day at different places — he became a sort of legendary figure, a musical Don Juan. He was not unmindful of the value of advertisement, so the legend grew with the years. That his reputation for gallantry was hugely exaggerated it is hardly necessary to add; a man who, accomplished as much as he, whether author, pianoforte virtuoso or composer, could have hardly had much idle time on his hands for the devil to dip into; and then his correspondence. He wrote or dictated literally thousands of letters. He was an ideal letter- writer. No one went unanswered, and a fairly good biography might be evolved from the many volumes of his correspondence. Nevertheless he did find time for much philandering, and for the cultivation of numerous platonic friendships. But the witty characterisation of Madame Plater holds good of Liszt. She said one day to Chopin: "If I were young and pretty, my little Chopin, I would take thee for husband, Ferdinand Hiller for friend, and Liszt for lover." This was in 1833, when Liszt was twenty-two years of age and the witticism definitely places Liszt in the sentimental hierarchy. La Mara, an indefatigable and enthusiastic collector of anecdotes about unusual folk, has just published a book, Liszt und die Frauen. It deals with twenty-six friends of Liszt and does not lean heavily on scandal as an attractive adjunct; indeed La Mara (Marie Lipsius) sees musical life through rose-coloured spectacles, and Liszt is one of her gods. For her he is more sinned against than sinning, more pursued than pursuer; his angelic wings grow in size on his shoulders while you watch. Only a few of the 
ladies, titled and otherwise, mentioned in this book enjoyed the fleeting affection of the pianist-composer. Whatever else he might have been, Liszt was not a vulgar gallant. Over his swiftest passing intrigues he contrived to throw an air of mystery. In sooth, he was an idealist and romanticist. No one ever heard him boast his conquests. " (Franz Liszt: 34-35)

Liszt's lovers in chronological order.
". . . [A]ll Europe was agog over his love affairs. More or less in chronological order, there were Caroline de Saint-Criq, the Countess Adele Laprunarede, Marie d'Agoult, Marie Duplessis (the Lady of the Camellias, Marguerite Gautier, immortalized by Dumas and through him by Verdi in La Traviata), Lola Montez, Marie Pleyel, Maria Pawlowna (the Grand Duchess of Saxony)---but why go on? His last permanent liaison was with the Polish-born, cigar-smoking Princess Carolyn Sayn-Wittgenstein. . . ." (Great Pianists:168)

Liszt's romantic record.
"He seems to have had a lot of affairs in his life, someone found out that he had at least 26 serious relationships in his life (besides countless other affairs) but the only ladies he thought about marriage (sic) was with these two princesses, Marie D'Agoult (sic) and Carolyne Sayn Wittgenstein." (Franz Liszt's Dangerous Love)

Liszt, or the art of running after women.
"Friedrich Nietzsche's famous sobriquet, 'Liszt, or the art of running after women' is not entirely accurate. For one, Liszt never had the need to run after women because women were constantly running after him. In addition, virtuosity on the keyboard and in the sack became indispensable parts of his performance persona. . . . "  (Liszt, or the Art of Running after Women!)

Franz Liszt's "groupie".
"Mick Jagger was not the first musician to attract groupies. The lovers of Franz Liszt included Marie Duplessis, the high-class courtesan immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in La Dame aus Camelias; the outrageous Lola Montez, who danced naked at the unveiling of the Beethoven Memorial; Princess Cristina Belgiojoso; the poet Bettina von Arnim; the singer Karoline Unger; Princess Caroline Sayn-Wittgenstein; the actress Charlotte Hagn, who Liszt boasted was also mistress of two kings; the pianist and nymphomaniac Marie Pleyel; Countess Marie d'Agoult, his long-term and long-suffering maitresse en titre, and many, many more."  (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p,)

Portraits of Liszt and twenty-six ladies.
"La Mara shows to us twenty-six portraits in her Liszt and the Ladies; they include Princess Cristina Belgiojoso, Pauline Viardot-Garcia, Caroline Unger-Sabatier, Marie Camille Pleyel, Charlotte von Hagn, Bettina von Arnim, Marie von Mouchanoff-Kalergis, Rosalie, Countess Sauerma, a niece of Spohr and an accomplished harp player; the Grand Duchess of Saxony, Maria Pawlowna, and her successor, Sophie, Grand Duchess of Weimar, both patronesses of Liszt; the Princess Wittgenstein, Emilie Merian-Genast, Agnes Street Klindworth, Jessie Hillebrand Laussot, Sofie Menter, the greatest of his women pupils; the Countess Wolkenstein and Blilow, Elpis Melena, Fanny, the Princess Rospigliosi, the Baroness Olga Meyendorff (this lady enjoyed to an extraordinary degree the confidence of Liszt. At Weimar she was held in high esteem by him — and hated by his pupils), and Nadine Helbig — Princess Nadine Schahawskoy. Madame Helbig was born in 1847 and went to Rome the first time in 1865. She became a Liszt pupil and a fervent propagandist. Her crayon sketch drawing of the venerable master is excellent. In her possession is a drawing by Ingres, who met Liszt in Rome, 1839, when the pianist was twenty-eight years of age. We learn that Liszt never attempted "poetry" with the exception of a couplet which he sent to the egregious Bettina von Arnim. It runs thus, and it consoles us with its crackling consonants for the discontinuance of further poetic flights on the part of its creator: "Ich kraxele auf der Leiter Und komme doch nicht weiter." (Franz Liszt: 41-42)

Franz Liszt, 1856
@ Liszt Ferenc National Museum

His lovers were:

1) Adele de Laprunarede, Duchesse de Fleury.

Lover in 1831-1833.

So young, so beautiful, so full of life & gaiety, so richly gifted. 
"One of them, however, hung more firmly than the others. It came from the sparkling, witty, coquettish Comtesse Adele Laprunarede (nee de Chelerd), afterwards Duchesse de Fleury, who sought in the elegant circles of the Faubourg St. Germain to indemnify herself for the ennui she suffered in the country by the side of an already very elderly count, her husband; and she was still so young, so beautiful, so full of life and gaiety, so richly gifted!" (Franz Liszt, Artist and Man, 1811-1840, Volume2: 81-82)

First encounter that awoke a passion.
"It was in the salons of the Faubourg St.-Germain that the young Liszt, hungry for whatever experiences life proffered, met the Countess Adele Laprunarede, who later became the Duchess de Fleury. She was young and beautiful and, like many women for her social station, was married to an aging and neglectful husband. Adele awoke a passion in Liszt, and he enjoyed his first extended love-affair with her. . . ." (Franz Liszt, Volume I: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847:n.p.)

"Before the affair began with the Countess d'Agoult, afterward the mother of his three children, Liszt enjoyed an interlude with the Countess Adele Laprunarede. It was the year of the revolution, 1830, and the profound despondency into which he had been cast by his unhappy love for Caroline was cured, as his mother sagely remarked, by the sound of cannon. He became a fast friend of Countess Adele and followed her to her home in the Alps, there, as he jestingly said, to pursue their studies in style in the French language. It must not be forgotten that the Count, her husband, was their companion. . . ." (Franz Liszt: 36)

Chateau Marlioz
@Pinterest

Love nest in a chateau of an older, married woman & a young stud.
"Nor was young Liszt an innocent in carnal matters. Granting that his youthful passion for Caroline de Saint-Cricq was purity itself, his involvement with Adele de Laprunarede early in 1831 was a totally different matter. Their lengthy idyll at her Chateau Marlioz is all the more significant when one stops to realize that Franz was only nineteen at the time, while Countess Adele (1796-1886) was then thirty-four years old. A classic instance of the older married woman and the young stud, it was a part of Franz that Marie, herself six years his senior, could never forgive nor forget."  (Liszt and His World: Proceedings of the International Liszt Conference. . .:21)

Husband cuckolded by the invited guest.
"The elderly Comte Laprunarede made the mistake of having the hot-blooded Hungarian as a house guest. They were snowed in and Liszt passed the time with the comte's 'sparkling, witty, young, beautiful' wife Adele. When he fled to Paris, he continued writing to her, something he would live to regret." (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p,).

Husband's costly mistake.
". . . When the unsuspecting count announced that he and his wife were leaving for Paris on a long trip to their castle at Marlioz in the Swiss Alps, Liszt was invited to accompany them there. Surrounded by snow and ice, with the mountain roads impassable, Liszt and Adele were marooned in the Castle Marlioz for the whole of the winter of 1832-33, with the count's elderly sister as chaperone. So secret was this attachment that no one in Paris seems to have known about it until much later. . . ." (Franz Liszt, Volume I: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847:n.p.)

2) Adelheid von Schorn 1841-1916)
German writer.

Daughter of: Ludwig Schorn, German art historian  & Henriette von Schorn, Freiin Stein zu Nord- und Ostheim. German writer

"The most recent contributions to Liszt literature are the letters between Franz Liszt and Carl Alexander, Archduke of Weimar; Aus der Glanzzeit der Weimarer Altenburg, by the fecund La Mara; and Franz Liszt, by August Gollerich, a former pupil of the master. To this we might add the little-known bundle of letters by Adelheid von Schorn, Franz Liszt et la Princesse de Sayn- Wittgenstein, (translated into French), a perfect mine of gossip. Miss von Schorn remained in Weimar after the princess left the Athens-on-the-Ilm for Rome and corresponded with her, telling of Liszt's doings, never failing to record new flirtations and making herself generally useful to the venerable composer. When attacked by his last illness at Colpach, where he had gone to visit Munkacszy, the painter, Miss von Schorn went to Bayreuth to look after him. There, at the door of his bed-chamber, she was refused admittance, Madame Cosima Wagner, through a servant, telling her that the daughter and grand-daughters of Franz Liszt would care for him. The truth is that Madame Wagner had always detested the Princess Wittgenstein and saw in the Weimar lady one of her emissaries. Miss Von Schorn left Bayreuth deeply aggrieved. After Liszt's death her correspondence with the princess abruptly ceased. She tells all this in her book. Even Liszt had shown her his door at Weimar several years before he died. He detested gossips and geese, he often declared." (Franz Liszt: 43)

3) Agnes Street-Klindworth.

4) Aurore Dupin, Baronne Dudevant (1804-1876)

French author.

With the Madame d'Agoult and Princess Wittgenstein episodes we are not concerned just now. So much has been written in this two- voiced fugue in the symphony of Liszt's life that it is difficult to disentangle the truth from the fable. La Mara is sympathetic, though not particularly enlightening. Of more interest, because of the comparative mystery of the affair, is the friendship between George Sand and Liszt. Naturally La Mara, sentimentalist that she is, denies a liaison. She errs. There was a brief love passage. But Liszt escaped the fate of De Musset and Chopin. Balzac speaks of the matter in his novel Beatrix, in which George Sand is depicted as Camille Maupin, the Countess d'Agoult as Beatrix, Gustave Planche as Claude Vignon, and Liszt as Conti. Furthermore, the D'Agoult was jealous of Madame Sand, doubly jealous of her as a friend of Liszt and as a writer of genius. Read the D'Agoult's novel, written after her parting with Liszt, and see how in this Nelida she imitates the Elle et Lui. That she hated George Sand, after a pretended friendship, cannot be doubted; we have her own words as witnesses. In My Literary Life, by Madame Edmond Adam (Juliette Lamber), she said of George Sand to the author : " Her lovers are to her a piece of chalk, with which she scratches on the blackboard. When she has finished she crushes the chalk under her foot, and there remains but the dust, which is quickly blown away." "How is it, my esteemed and beloved friend, you have never forgiven ?" sadly asked Madame Adam. " Because the wound has not healed yet. Conscious that I had put my whole life and soul into my love for Liszt she tried to take him away from me." One would suppose from the above that Liszt was faithful to Madame d'Agoult or that George Sand had separated the runaway couple, whereas in reality Liszt knew George Sand before he met the D'Agoult. What Madame Sand said of Liszt as a gallant can hardly be paraphrased in English. She was not very flattering. Perhaps George Sand was a reason why the relations between Chopin and Liszt cooled; the latter said: 11 Our lady loves had quarrelled, and as good cavaliers we were in duty bound to side with them." Chopin said: " We are friends, we were comrades." Liszt told Dr. Niecks: "There was a cessation of intimacy, but no enmity. I left Paris soon after, and never saw him again." It was at the beginning of 1840 that Liszt went to Chopin's apartment accompanied by a companion. Chopin was absent. On his return he became furious on learning of the visit. No wonder. Who was the lady in the case? It could have been Marie, it might have been George Sand, and probably it was some new fancy." (Franz Liszt: 38-39)

5) Bettina von Arnim

German writer, novelist & poet.

". . . Liszt's other friendship was with the formidable Bettina von Arnim, who had known both Goethe and Beethoven.  Bettina was now fifty-seven years old and reflecting on her past life.  Liszt had many conversations with her about these two men of genius and treasured her recollections of them."  (Franz Liszt, Volume I: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847)

Caroline de Saint-Cricq
@ Pinterest

6) Caroline de Saint-Cricq (1812-1872)

Lover in 1828.

Daughter of: Comte Pierre de Saint-Cricq & Jeanne-Clemence Lenain de Tillemont

Wife of: Bertrand d'Artigaux, mar 1830.

"Did Liszt ever love? It has been questioned by some of his biographers. His first passion, however, seems to have been genuine, as genuine as his love for his mother and for his children; he proved more admirable as a father than he would have been as a husband. In 1823 as "le petit Litz" he had set all musical Paris wondering. When his father died in 1827 he gave lessons there like any everyday pianoforte pedagogue because he needed money for the support of his mother. Among his aristocratic pupils was Caroline de Saint-Criq, the daughter of the Minister of Commerce, Count de Saint-Criq. It must have been truly a love in the clouds. Caroline was motherless. She was, as Liszt later declared, " a woman ideally good." Her father did not enjoy the prospect of a son-in-law who gave music lessons, and the intimacy suddenly snapped. But Liszt never forgot her; she became his mystic Beatrice, for her and to her he composed and dedicated a song; and even meeting her at Pau in 1844, just sixteen years after their rupture, did not create the disenchantment usual in such cases. Berlioz, too, sought an early love when old, and in his eyes she was as she always had been; Stendhal burst into tears on seeing again Angela Pietagrua after eleven years absence. Verily art is a sentimental antiseptic. Caroline de Saint-Criq had married like the dutiful daughter she was, and Liszt's heart by 1844 was not only battle-scarred but a cemetery of memories. She died in 1874. They had corresponded for years, and at the moment of their youthful parting, caused by a cruel and extremely sensible father, they made a promise to recall each other's names at the hour of the daily angelus. Liszt averred that he kept his promise. The name of the lyric he wrote for her is: "Je voudrais m'evanouir comme la pourpre du soir" ("Ich mochte hingehn wie das Abendrot")." (Franz Liszt: 34-35)

"As an integral part of the usual Liszt biography, a love affair with his pupil Caroline de Saint-Cricq must be mentioned, although documented evidence for this is less than meager. Traditionally Caroline has been described as nothing short of an angel come down to earth, without worldly desires of whatsoever kind. Besides, she was very beautiful and very rich. Liszt, who had not the least interest in those qualities, became her piano teacher in spring 1828 when he was 16 and she was 17. While talking exclusively of holy things, they quickly fell in love. Supported by Caroline's mother, they wanted to marry. Shortly afterwards, on June 30 or July 1, 1828, the mother died. Caroline's father, French Minister of Commerce in the government of Charles X, then acted as antagonist, showing Liszt the door. Caroline fell ill, and Liszt suffered a nervous breakdown. At age 19, i.e., in 1830, Caroline married one Bertrand d'Artigaux. Together with her husband, she moved to Pau in southern France. Unfortunately, no matter how touching the story is, until this day not a single author has given contemporary sources supporting it." (Wikipedia)

" . . . Caroline de Saint-Cricq was sixteen . . . when she met Liszt.  He became her piano teacher, and the two quickly fell in love."  (The Franz Liszt Compendium).  

"Born in Hungary in 1811, Liszt planned to become a priest -- until he met the blue-eyed Caroline Saint-Cricq, the daughter of the Comte de Saint-Cricq.  They were both sixteen, but he was a child prodigy and had taken her on as a pupil. However, when the comte found Liszt creeping out of his house at night, he married his daughter off to a nobleman." (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p.)

"It was in Pau, near the Spanish frontier, that Liszt had a nostalgic reunion with Caroline de Saint-Cricq, the first love of his youth. . . He and Caroline had last seen one another in 1828, before her forced marriage to Bertrand Dartigaux. . . ."  (Franz Liszt, Volume I: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847:n.p.)

Physical appearance & personal qualities:  " . . . More ambiguity appears if we try to find out what this angelic young girl looked like.  Some described her as a plain young girl with brown hair, a pale complexion and mauve eyes (e.g. Leon-Berard).  Others (e.g. Pourtales, Haraszti, and Dumesni) describe her eyes as 'violet et tristes' and her figure as 'of slender frame and angelic beauty'.  In 1855, Marie de Sayn-Wittgenstein, daughter of Liszt's partner Princess Carolyne, wrote the following: 'She was slender with a distinguished appearance, fine features but a face without vitality.  She had dark eyes and black hair [...] the whole of her person was filled with the rigidity of someone who was covering up a deeply felt pain.'  In his "letter from a traveler' to George Sand published in February 1837, Liszt compared her to alabaster.  We shall probably never know, although a pale complexion and brown hair appear to be true according to the painting depicted in Burger's biography."  (Meet Caroline de Saint-Cricq and her family)

7) Caroline Ungher.
Austro-Hungarian contralto.

" . . . In October 1893, they (Marie d'Agoult and Franz Liszt) officially dissolved their relationship and Franz went to the coastal town of Trieste for a sizzling reunion with an old idolized flame.  The flame in question was the Austro-Hungarian contralto Caroline Unger, and their relationship dated back all the way to 1 December 1822.  On that day, Franz gave his debut performance in the city of Vienna, sharing the stage with the then nineteen-year-old singer. Unger warbled an aria from Rossini's opera 'Demetrio e Polibio,' while Franz contributed the Hummer Converto in A minor and a free fantasy. . . . " (Resistance is Futile!  Franz Liszt and Caroline and Eveline)

Charlotte von Hagn

8) Charlotte von Hagn (1809-1891)

German actress

Daughter of: Karl von Hagn, German businessman & Josepha Schwab

Wife of: Alexander von Oven, German landowner, mar 1848, div 1851

"Twenty-one-year-old actress Charlotte von Hagn seduced him with a love poem.  After she married, she wrote him saying, 'You have spoiled all others for me.  No one can stand the comparison.'  It did not matter to her that, at the time, she was sharing him with Bettina von Arnim, an intimate of both Beethoven and Goethe."  (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p.) 

"Liszt's sojourn in Berlin was marked by close friendships with two women of distinction.  One of them was Charlotte von Hagn, the finest actress in Germany and one of the great beauties of her time.  A typical Bavarian, with blond hair and blue eyes, Charlotte was twenty-one years old. She spoke excellent French, and Liszt found in her a warm and delightful companion.  Vulnerable to Liszt's chivalrous attentions, Charlotte scribbled a love-poem on the corner of her fan for him.  Liszt carried it off and set the words to music. Seven years after their brief encounter, Charlotte, who was now married, wrote to Liszt, 'You have spoiled all other people for me.  Nobody can stand the comparison.'. . . ." (Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847: n.p.)

9) Charlotte Laborie.

10) Comtesse Wolkenstein and Bulow

11) Cristina Belgiojoso, Princessa Belgiojoso (1808-1871)
Italian aristocrat, patriot, writer & journalist.

Daughter of: Gerolamo Trivulzio & Vittoria Gherardini.
Wife of: Emilio Barbiano, Principe Belgiojoso.

"An Italian woman from an aristocratic Italian family, Cristina Trivulzio of Belgiojoso was also well-educated.  She learned Latin, French, English and studied music and the arts.  She even made a living by teaching music at one stage.  Unlike Fuller, however, she was raised in the world of revolutionary politics.  Her stepfather may have introduced her to the Italian struggle: he even went to jail for his politics." (Two Women of the Italian Risorgimento @ lifeiitaly)

Her other lovers were:
1. Francois Mignet
2. Pietro Bolognini.

"Cristina, born, Cristina Trivulzio, married prince Belgiojoso at only 16.  The marriage was not happy because of his gambling and womanising.  Although the prince eventually left his wife for another woman, they remained good friends and wrote to each other." (Two Women of the Italian Risorgimento @ lifeiitaly)

"Several years passed, and with the money sent by her mother and those recovered from her possessions, she finally resumed comfort in her life.  She gradually organized a 'salon' where she reunited Italian exiles, writers, philosophers and musicians of the finest European upper class.  In her salon someone just passed through and someone came more often.  Among these, the German poet Heine, the Hungarian composer Liszt, the French poet De Musset.  The Parisian elite began to know her.  In the rumours around her, she practically divided men and women.  The first loved her, the latter envied her. Few were the exceptions.  The only true female friend she had in Paris was Mme Caroline Jaubert.  Many men fell in love with her.  She had black long hair, and a very fair complexion.  The malicious used to say that she was so pale she could be a ghost.  She took advantage of this, presenting herself in soft light clothes and in dark rooms and learned fast how to shock and amaze her guests. Caroline Jaubert presented to Cristina the famous French poet Alfred de Musset, which, as expected, fell madly in love with her.  He certainly was not her kind of man.  He was too close to her ex husband: too libertine and so not trustworthy. She had already learned the lesson ten years earlier with Emilio.  De Musset, hopeless, published an unkind poem against her in the Revue de deux mondes. She didn't even considered (sic) it." (Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso: An Italian Princess in the 19th c. Turkish Countryside: 11)

12) Elpis Melena

13) Emilie Genast (1833-1905)

14) Fanny, Princess Rospigliosi

15) Jessie Hillebrand Laussot

16) Lina Schmallhausen

17) Karoline von Sayn-Wittgenstein  (1819-1887)

Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein
& daughter Mary

Wife of: Nikolaus zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg, German author & amateur journalist

Lover in 1847.

First Encounter:  "But in 1841, she was struggling with the demise of her marriage.  And then she met Liszt---a man completely different from any she had known.  Carolyne became the 'victim' . . . of what the French call coup de foudre, the thunderclap announcing love at first sight.  Liszt must have appeared to her as the beau ideal out of every childhood novel she had ever read.  She invited him to her estate at Woronice, the kind of invitation he was not inclined to refuse.  He stayed for a few days.  He told her they would meet again in Odessa.  When they did so, in July of 1847, she curiously arrived with her estranged husband who appeared not displeased that Carolyne had found a 'friend.' . . ."  (Franz Liszt, His Circle, and His Elusive Oratorio:101)

"Liszt reached a turning point in 1848.  Already in 1842 the grand duke of Saxe-Weimar had invited him to become Kapellmeister Extraordinary at the Weimar court, and now (February 1848) Liszt settled down with his new mistress, the Polish princess Carolyne zu Sayne-Wittgenstein (1819-1887), to help turn the already distinguished city . . . into an 'Athens of the North.'"  (Historical Dictionary of Romantic Music:339)

Karoline's personal & family background:  "Carolyne was the only child of Pauline Podoska and Peter Iwanowski, a wealthy Polish landowner in the Ukrainian province of Podolia.  Her parents separated while she was a child, and her mother, celebrated for her flamboyant beauty and charm, was given to traveling extensively through the courts of Europe and frequently took her daughter on these trips.  Carolyne's father, by contrast, was an intellectual lover who spent his nights reading and writing, chain-smoking cigars in the vast library of his estate." (Franz Lisct, His Circle, and His Elusive Oratorio:100)

18) Lola Montez (1821-1861)

Irish dancer, actress & courtesan

Lover in 1844.

First Encounter: " . . . In 1844, she met and had an indiscreet affair with Franz Liszt, the Hungarian composer. When the affair died out, she decided to go to Paris."  (Ozmore & Abernethy)

"More adventurous were Liszt's affairs with Marguerite Gautier, the lady of the camellias, the consumptive heroine of the Dumas play, as related by Jules Janin, and with the more notorious Lola Montez, who had to leave Munich to escape the wrath of the honest burghers. The king had humoured too much the lady's extravagant habits. She fell in love with Liszt, who had parted with his Marie in 1844, and went with him to Constantinople. Where they separated no one knows. It was not destined to be other than a fickle passion on both sides, not without its romantic aspects for romantically inclined persons. . . ." (Franz Liszt: 39-40)

Affair's end & aftermath: "At last Liszt (who had a reputation as the great lover of the age) was so completely worn out by Lola, that as she slept, he locked her in their hotel room and fled.   At the front desk he left a generous sum of money for the furniture he knew she would smash when she awoke." (Abacom)

19) Mademoiselle de Barre

" . . . He is known to have taken a trip to the Savoie in 1832 with one Mlle de Barre, and two other young ladies who bestowed their favours on Liszt at this time. . . ."  (Franz Liszt, Volume 1: The Virtuoso Years, 1811-1847:n.p.)

20) Madame F.

21) Maria Kalergis (1822-1874)
Polish noblewoman, pianist & patron of the arts.

Wife of Jan Kalergis, a rich landowner

"Kalergis and Liszt's friendship dates from Warsaw in 1843. . . Her beauty had inspired many.  Theophile Gautier had written her the sonnet 'Symphonie en blanc majeur.'  Liszt always praise her, not least for her talent as a pianist, and had introduced her to both Chopin and Wagner. . . Kalergis and Liszt shared an affinity of sentiment and musical feeling.  She had attended the Bonn inauguration of Beethoven's status and afterwards nursed Liszt through an illness there.  Liszt had dedicated his transcription of Verdi's Salve Maria de Jerusalem to her."  (Franz Liszt and Agnes Street-Klindworth: A Correspondence, 1854-1886:28)

22) Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1786-1859)

Wife of: Karl Friedrich von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1783-1853), mar 1804.

23) Marie-Clotilde-Elisabeth-Louise de Riquet, Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau (1837-1890)

Daughter of: Michel-Gabriel-Alphonse-Ferdinand de Riquet, Prince de Chimay and Rosalie de Riquet de Caraman. 
Wife of: Eugene-Arnould-Henri-Charles-Francois-Marie, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, mar 1860.

24) Marie Duplessis
French courtesan
Lover in 1845.
"Far from languishing in grief over either Dumas fils or Perregaux, Duplessis took one more lover still before she died, the composes and pianist Franz Liszt. What was to be the last was probably also her most passionate affair. . .  And since she had already experienced what Liszt like to do with her at night and indeed seems to have liked it very much, what seems a generous offer is in reality a graceful expression of her own desire. "  (Griffin, 2002, p. 218)

25) Marie d'Agoult (1805-1876)
Vicomtesse de Flavigny, Comtesse d'Agoult.
Lover in 1833-1844.

Daughter of: Alexander Victor Francois de Flavigny, an emigre French aristocrat & Maria Elisabeth Bethmann, a German banker's daughter.

Wife of: Charles Louis Constant d'Agoult, Comte d'Agoult (1790-1875), mar 1827, div 1835.

Natural offspring: Francesca Gaetana Cosima Liszt.

"...The Comtesse was the mistress of Liszt and mother of their three children. The relationship lasted for a decade from 1834...."  (Liszt & Short, 2003, p. 5)

First encounter:  "It was at a party in Chopin's apartment in early 1833 which Liszt attended with Berlioz that he fell in love with Countess Marie d'Agoult.  It resulted in a relationship that would last more than ten years.  They had met on earlier occasions . . . but for Liszt the spark of love only ignited in 1833.  Being of a noble descent, Marie d'Agoult had less of a problem regarding the moral side of the aristocracy than Count Pierre de Saint-Cricq.  She divorced her husband in August 1835 and joined Liszt on his famous Annees de Pelerinage travels through Europe.  Their daughter Blandine was born in December 1835 in Geneva."  (Meet Caroline de Saint-Cricq and her family) 
Erotic affair:  "As for their early years together in Paris, we need only recall a few aspects of them here. For one thing, even though we cannot be sure just when Franz and Marie first became physical lovers, we know that they had rented an apartment---the 'rat's hole'---for their private moments together.  For another, their liaison was clandestine and far from a constant.  It proceeded erratically by fits and starts.  Months would pass without seeing each other.  At times they felt guilty about their adulterous passion; at others, Marie became violently jealous of Liszt's past involvements, notably with Countess Adele, and humiliated him for them.  Both, in fact, seemed to thrive on the emotional turbulence each other could stir within each other."  (Liszt and His World: Proceedings of the International Liszt Conference. . .:22)

Affair's end & aftermath:  "For Madame d'Agoult, the Lola Montes affair was the last straw: 'I am willing to be your mistress, but not one of your mistresses.'  Having already hear too many stories of Liszt's adventures on tour, she asked that he spare her any more 'vulgar publicity.'"  (Franz Liszt, His Circle, and His Elusive Oratorio:88)

Personal & family background:  "The comtesse was born Marie Flavigny in Frankfurt-am-Main, daughter of a family known for its scandalous affairs. Seething with emotions, the young Marie was described as 'six inches of snow covering twenty feet of lave.'  After completing her education at the Convent of the Sacre-Coeur in Paris, she plunged into a torrid love affair with the poet Alfred de Vigny. . . ."  (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p.) 

Liszt's natural offspring with Marie d'Agoult:  " . . . As to the children by Marie d'Agoult, since under nineteenth-century laws the male parent had absolute custodial rights, after the break, they were raised by Liszt's mother."  (Franz Liszt, His Circle, and His Elusive Oratorio:88)

". . . Nevertheless, she produced three illegitimate children with Liszt.  One daughter, Blandine, married the French politician Emile Ollivier, who took France into the catastrophic war with Prussia in 1870, and another, Cosima, married first Hans von Bulow and then Richard Wagner. . . ."   (The Triumph of Music: Composers, Musicians and their Audiences, 1700 to the Present:n.p.)

26) Marie Pleyel (1811-1875)
Belgian pianist & nymphomaniac.

"Heinrich Heine ranked Pleyel among the mightiest piano virtuosos of the early nineteenth century. . . Since Pleyel was socially well connected . . . she was in all respects, on an equal footing with Franz Liszt.  Apparently, the battle of supremacy was fought on a mattress in Chopin's apartment, who vigorously objected to this kind of athletic intrusion.  In the end, Marie Pleyel outperformed Franz Liszt in this department as well, as he could only describe her as 'insatiable.' . . . . "  (Liszt, or the Art of Running after Women!)

27) Nadejda Schakowskoy, Madame Helbig (1847-1922)
Russian princess, pianist, music patron & benefactor

 " . . . A Russian princess, Madame Helbig moved to Rome in 1865, where she married the eminent German archaeologist Wolfgang Helbig and made friends with Liszt's mistress Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein.  Liszt himself enjoyed her well-educated company during his numerous Roman stays, and offered her his precious teaching as well as the dedication of his transcription of Dargomyzkij's Tarantelle (R148)."  (Istituto Liszt)

28) Olga Janina.
Lover in 1869.

Olga's physical appearance & personal qualities:  \"From the start Olga stood out from the others because of her dress and her bizarre behaviour. She wore a jacket and trousers, smoked cigars, and cut her hair short like a man. Contemporary photographs show that she was not endowed with good looks; indeed, she was downright plain, her face hard and masculine. . . ." (Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1861-1866:11)

Personal & family background:  "Olga's family name was Zielinski, and she was born around 1845, in Lemberg.  Her parents were Ludwik Zielinski and Lopuszanska Sabina, and Olga had an older brother named Wladislaw.  The family was reasonably wealthy, since her father had taken out a patent on the manufacture of an improved boot polish from which he had made money. . . ."  (Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1861-1866:172))

Spouses & children:  ". . . In 1863, when she was in her eighteenth year, Olga married her first husband, Karol Janina Piasecki.  The match was unhappy and she left him shortly afterwards, adopting his second name as her professional one because she thought it might project a better image.  There was one child of the marriage, a daughter named Helene. . . . "  (Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1861-1866:172)

" . . . Probably the closest graze with hatred and revenge ever experienced by Liszt was the Olga Janina episode. Polish and high born, rich, it is said, she adored Liszt, studied with him, followed him from Weimar to Rome, from Rome to Budapest, bored him, shocked him as an abb£ and scandalised ecclesiastical Rome by her mad behaviour; finally she attempted to stab him, and, failing, took a dose of poison. She didn't die, but lived to compose a malicious and 
clever book, Souvenirs d'une Cosaque (written at Paris and Karentec, March to September, published by the Libraire Internationale, 1875, now out of print), and signed "Robert Franz." Poor old Liszt is mercilessly dissected, and his admiring circle at Weimar slashed by a vigourous pen. In truth, despite the falsity of the picture, Olga Janina wrote much more incisively, with more personal colour and temperament, than did Countess d'Agoult, who also caricatured Liszt in her Nelida (as "Guermann"), and the good Liszt wrote to his princess: "Janina was not evil, only exalted." [I have heard it whis- 
pered that the attempt on Liszt's life at Rome was a melodramatic affair, concocted by his princess, who was jealous of the Janina girl, with the 
aid of the pianist's valet.] (Franz Liszt: 41)

Affair's end & aftermath:  "Another cigar-smoking proto-feminist, the so-called 'Cossack Countess' Olga Janina fell for him in 1869.  In fact, she was the daughter of a boot-polish manufacturer in Lemburg.  When he dropped her, she achieved notoriety by publishing three highly fictionalized accounts of the affair. . . ." (The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals:n.p,)

29) Olga von Meyendorff (1838-1926)
Lover in 1863.

"But who was the Baroness Olga von Meyendorff and when did Liszt first become acquainted with her?  Writing to Agnes Street-Klindworth on September 19, 1863 . . ., Liszt said: 'Among my few contacts whom I see less rarely that others I can mention . . . Baron Felix Meyendorff . . . (nephew of the [Russian] ambassador tp Berlin and Vienna [who] came to Rome from Stuttgart as first secretary of the embassy). He has, I believe, all the qualities necessary for an excellent career.  His wife (one of the daughters of Prince Gortschakoff of Warsaw) joins to many other attractions a most original pianistic talent.'  By 1867 Meyendorff had been appointed ambassador to the court of Weimar, and Liszt saw the couple in Germany that year (August 28) when his Elisabeth was performed at the Wartburg.  Transferred to Karlsruhe in 1870, Meyendorff seemed to fulfilling the career Liszt had predicted, but he died suddenly, very early in 1871 (he was born in 1834), and his widow, with four sons, was left in a town that offered more novelty than comfort.  She returned to Weimar where she had many friends and high social standing, and where Liszt was now returning every year to coach his group of 'first-class pianists.'" (The Letters of Franz Liszgt to Olga von Metendordd, 1871-1886: xiv-xv)

"In Weimar, Liszt spent time in the company of the Baroness Olga von Meyendorff, nee Gorchakova, a Polish woman whose husband had recently died, leaving her with four children in need of a surrogate father.  The baroness, in her thirties, was in many ways similar to the younger Carolyne and, like Carolyne, became a confidante to whom Liszt constantly wrote letters." (Franz Liszt, His Circle, and His Elusive Oratorio:132)

"One of the most striking friendships of Liszt's later years was formed at this time, and we must say a few words about it here because of its special importance to the composer's private life.  Baroness Olga von Meyendorff was the wife of Felix von Meyendorff, who had been appointed Russian ambassador to the court of Weimar in 1867.  That was the year in which Liszt had become re-acquainted with the young couple, at the performance of his St. Elisabeth in the Wartburg, and he had predicted a brilliant career for the thirty-three-year-old diplomat.  Not long afterwards, Meyendorff was transferred to Karlsruhe, where he died in January 1871, leaving behind his thirty-two-year-old widow and four small sons.  Unable to bear the loneliness of her new situation, in a city that held little attraction for her, Olga moved back to Weimar with her family, primarily to be near Liszt, with whom she had meanwhile struck up a correspondence.  Olga and Liszt remained intimate friends for the rest of his life. She often accompanied him on his travels on order to provide him the material comforts that his bachelor existence lacked. . . ."  (Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1861-1886:199)

30) Pauline Plater
". . . Among his early conquests was . . . Countess Pauline Plater.  When (she) was asked to rank the three great pianists who had performed in her salon---Hiller, Chopin, and Liszt---she replied that Hiller would make the best friend, Chopin the best husband, and Liszt the best lover.  The relative merit of their piano playing does not seem to have been her main concern."  (The Triumph of Music: Composers, Musicians and their Audiences, 1700 to the Present:n.p.)

31) Pauline Viardot
French mezzo-soprano, pedagoue & composer.

32) Rosalie, Countess Sauerma

33) Sophie Menter
German pianist & composer

34) Sophie of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar

35) Vera-Euphemie Didier.