Ferenc Liszt was born on 22 October, 1811 placing him solidly in the Romantic era of music history. An innovative and viruosic pianist, he was equally influential compositionally, finally leaving the concert stage to devote himself to composition. Personal tragedies led Liszt to enter a Dominican monastery in 1863. He was conferred the religious title of Abbé in 1866 by Pope Pius IX. Liszt died in 1886.