« La musique nous accompagne du berceau à la tombe »

In 1881 Hungarian painter Mihály Zichy gave a pen drawing entitled Du berceau jusqu’au cercueil as a gift to Franz Liszt who was responsible for the musical education of Zichy’s daughter. Inspired by the drawing, Liszt composed the symphonic poem Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe / Du berceau jusqu’à la tombe (From the Cradle to the Grave). The first edition of the symphonic poem was illustrated by Zichy’s drawing. The painter later extended the subject with a number of narrative parts in order to illustrate those variety in which music can appear. This new graphic work Music Accompanies from the Cradle to the Grave was composed of consecutive and juxtaposed images associating film stills. He utilized this second variation in 1892 for planning the decoration of a concert hall in Saint Petersburg. In the shift from narrative to allegorical content these two graphic works together contain a hidden allegory of life and death