He writes the ugliest music extant.

—Dramatic and Musical Review, 1843

Composition indeed!—decomposition is the proper word for such hateful fungi, which choke up and poison the fertile plains of harmony, threatening the world with drought.

—Musical World, 1855

Liszt’s orchestral music is an insult to art. It is gaudy music harlotry, savage and incoherent bellowings.

—Boston Gazette, 1872

The reception to Franz Liszt’s music is a fascinating study in contrasts. One the one hand, he had critics accusing him of every imaginable offense against good taste, decorum, and human decency. On the other hand …

Women would literally attack him: tear bits of his clothing, fight over broken piano strings and locks of his shoulder-length hair.

—How Franz Liszt Became The World’s First Rock Star, NPR

So as the critics shouted about how offensive his music was, he was literally chased by adoring fans.

And somehow, while being chased by adoring fans, he revolutionized the role of the orchestral composer, the boundaries of piano music, and, “most importantly, how music functions for most of the literate public.”