Liszt was born into a musical family on October 22nd, 1811 in Doborján, Hungary (which is known today as Raiding, Austria). His first piano teacher was his father Adám, who began teaching him at the age of seven. At age nine, Franz began performing in concerts around the cities of modern-day Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia. Around this time, he also began taking piano lessons from Carl Czerny, who was a student of Ludwig van Beethoven. 

At the age of 21, Liszt had the opportunity to see Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini perform in concert. Following this concert, he became determined to become a piano virtuoso of the same caliber as Paganini. Luckily, he was living in Paris, France, which at this time in history was known as the pianist capital of the world. His growing friendships with virtuoso pianists and composers such as Frederic Chopin, Sigismond Thalberg, and Alexander Dreyschock helped build his technical knowledge of the instrument. 

(Hoffman Academy)