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In <\/span>Mills & Boon\u2019s The Playboy of Rome<\/i>, Dante is the dangerous Lothario (\u2018Dante might be hotter than the Italian sun, but he\u2019s as cool as ice towards Lizzi\u2019); in the Devil May Cry<\/i> video games, he is a devil pursuing his brother Vergil, while his alter ego Dan Teal is the murderer in Matthew Pearl\u2019s novel The Dante Club<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> In the seven centuries since his death, writer Dante Alighieri has become inextricably linked to his fictional persona, a legacy that is preserved in literature, art, popular culture and, of course, music. Alighieri \u2013 generally referred to by his first name, Dante \u2013 was born in Florence in 1265. He began writing his most notable work, The Divine Comedy<\/i>, in 1307, continuing to tinker with it until his death in 1321. Its three volumes (Inferno<\/i>, Purgatorio<\/i> and Paradiso<\/i>) follow the author through his journey into hell, accompanied by Roman poet Virgil, witness his ascent into purgatory and final voyage across heaven \u2013 guided by a woman named Beatrice.<\/p>\n Dante\u2019s contrasting descriptions of the concentric circles of hell and the purity of paradise have inspired composers ever since, but the most famous musical incarnations are by Liszt<\/a><\/strong>. The piano piece known as the Dante<\/i> Sonata<\/i> appeared in several iterations following its initial composition in 1839.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Liszt read voraciously as a young man, as he realised his schooling had been almost non-existent,\u2019 explains pianist and musicologist Leslie Howard, president of the Liszt Society. \u2018He worked through the principal Greek and Latin fellows and quite a bit of French but he didn\u2019t reach the Italians until around 1839 \u2013 and then he made up for lost time; his first published song set Italian words by Petrarch.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n The Dante<\/i> Sonata<\/i> \u2013 or, to give its full title, Apr\u00e8s une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata<\/i> \u2013 enjoys an enormous discography, recorded by historic pianists (such as Sviatoslav Richter, Jorge Bolet and Emil Gilels), established stars (Martha Argerich,<\/a><\/strong> Angela Hewitt and Alfred Brendel) and the next generation of young performers (Benjamin Grosvenor and Joseph Moog). <\/span><\/p>\n The 30-minute work opens with a series of tritones, regarded as the \u2018demonic\u2019 harmony. \u2018When this interval was first discovered \u2013 centuries before Liszt \u2013 it was thought there was something displeasing about an augmented fourth, so it was avoided,\u2019 says Howard. \u2018It had been observed for years, but Liszt is the one with whom this chord is most associated with \u2013 it is clear that his intention is to depict Inferno<\/i>.\u2019 However, Liszt\u2019s sonata doesn\u2019t strictly follow the structure of The Divine Comedy<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>After all, as Howard points out, \u2018the title [Apr\u00e8s une lecture du Dante<\/i>] is a line from Victor Hugo, not Dante. Liszt was writing a reaction to Dante\u2019s words rather than seeking to convey specific scenes.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\nLiszt\u2019s Dante Sonata<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n