When Franz, now a handsome boy of nine, heard of the concert, he was overjoyed at the prospect of playing in public.  It was a happy day for him when he started out with his father for Oldenburg.  He was to play a Concerto by Reis, and a Fantaisie of his own, accompanied by the orchestra.  In this his first public attempt Franz proved he possessed two qualities necessary for success—­talent and will.  All who heard him on this occasion were so delighted, that Adam then and there made arrangements to give a second concert on his own account, which was attended with as great success as the first.

The father had now fully made up his mind Franz was to be a musician.  He decided to resign his post of steward at Raiding and take the boy to Vienna for further study.

On the way to Pressburg, the first stop, they halted to call at Eisenstadt, on Prince Esterhazy.  The boy played for his delighted host, who gave him every encouragement, even to placing his castle at Pressburg at his disposal for a concert.  The Princess, too, was most cordial, and gave the boy costly presents when they left.

At Pressburg Adam Liszt succeeded in arranging a concert which interested all the Hungarian aristocracy of the city.  It was given in the spacious drawing-rooms of the Prince’s palace, and a notable audience was present.  Little Franz achieved a triumph that night, because of the fire and originality of his playing.  Elegant women showered caresses upon the child and the men were unanimous that such gifts deserved to be cultivated to the utmost without delay.

When it was learned that father Liszt had not an ample purse, and there would be but little for Franz’s further musical education, six Hungarian noblemen agreed to raise a subscription which would provide a yearly income for six years.  With this happy prospect in view, which relieved him of further anxiety, the father wrote to Hummel, now in employ of the Court at Weimar, asking him to undertake Franz’s musical education.  Hummel, though a famous pianist, was of a grasping nature; he wrote back that he was willing to accept the talented boy as a pupil, but would charge a louis d’or per lesson!

As soon as the father and his boy arrived in Vienna, the best teachers were secured for Franz.  Carl Czerny was considered head of the piano profession.  Czerny had been a pupil of Beethoven, and was so overrun with pupils himself, that he at first declined to accept another.  But when he heard Franz play, he was so impressed that he at once promised to teach him.  His nature was the opposite of Hummel’s, for he was most generous to struggling talent.  At the end of twelve lessons, when Adam Liszt wished to pay the debt, Czerny would accept nothing, and for the whole period of instruction—­a year and a half—­he continued to teach Franz gratuitously.