Lincoln, Neb.--When the American Liszt Society last gathered in Lincoln in 2010, the Glenn Korff School of Music looked very different. Sixteen years later, organizers of the 2026 American Liszt Festival are preparing to welcome musicians, scholars and audiences back to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a renewed sense of purpose — and a newly transformed home for music.
The festival, which will take place Sept. 28-30 in Lincoln, will bring together internationally recognized performers, lecturers and composers for three days of concerts, lectures and conversations centered on the theme “Toward Re-Enchantment: Beauty as a Portal to the Sacred.”
For Paul Barnes, the Marguerite Scribante Professor of Piano in the Glenn Korff School of Music and artistic director of the festival, the event reflects both a musical and deeply personal vision.
“The theme is something that’s very, very dear to my heart personally, because that’s exactly how music has functioned in my life,” Barnes said. “It’s functioned as a portal to the sacred.”
Barnes said the response to the theme was immediate and overwhelming after it was announced at last year’s festival.
“When I announced that theme at last year’s festival, everybody got incredibly excited,” he said. “I just got bombarded with proposals.”
That enthusiasm has resulted in a packed festival schedule featuring performances, lectures, discussions and premieres exploring spirituality, beauty and transcendence through music. The event will include appearances by internationally known scholars and artists, performances by faculty and students, and collaborations with the university’s orchestra and choirs.
“I wanted to show off what we’ve got,” Barnes said. “I want to show off the orchestra. I’m going to show off the choirs. I’m very, very excited about that.”
A centerpiece of the festival will be the opening Monday evening concert at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall, which will be free and open to the public. The program will feature music rooted in chant traditions, including “Via Crucis,” Liszt’s meditative work depicting the Stations of the Cross, featuring pianist Nicholas Susi and the University Singers, as well as the “Totentanz” (Dance of Death) concerto performed by Richard Fountain, and orchestral tone poems including “Les Préludes” and “From the Cradle to the Grave,” performed by the UNL Symphony Orchestra.
Barnes said the festival also will highlight contemporary composers, reflecting Liszt’s lifelong commitment to championing new music.
“Liszt was such a proponent of contemporary music in his day,” Barnes said. “Almost all Liszt Festivals feature the work of younger composers because he had such an amazing heart for other people and promoting other composers. That’s always been an important part of many Liszt festivals, and that aligns with my own extensive work in promoting new music.”
The festival schedule includes at least two world premiere performances, including “The Ship” by Andrew Fowler and “Divine Aspirations” by Sawyer Gage, alongside recently published works by living composers. Barnes said incorporating new music keeps the festival connected to Liszt’s spirit of artistic innovation.
“Whenever you get together to celebrate Liszt, what you’re really celebrating is the future,” he said. “And that’s a great thing to celebrate, and it gives people energy.”
Among the featured guests is renowned Liszt scholar Alan Walker, author of the landmark three-volume biography of Liszt. Walker, who is 96, is scheduled to present a lecture titled “Génie Oblige! —Genius Carries Obligations,” drawn from Liszt’s belief that gifted artists have a responsibility to share their talents in service to others.
“That was Liszt’s motto,” Barnes said. “If you’ve been gifted by God and you develop those gifts, you have a responsibility to share those, and that’s where the idea of the portal to the sacred comes from.”
Barnes has also invited theologian Junius Johnson to deliver the festival’s keynote address, which has the same title as the festival’s theme, “Toward Re-Enchantment: Beauty as a Portal to the Sacred.”
“I’m excited about showing him how wonderful Lincoln is. I think he will absolutely love it here,” Barnes said of Johnson’s upcoming visit to Lincoln.
Other highlights include a recreation of the famous 19th-century musical duel between Liszt and virtuoso Sigismond Thalberg, performed by pianists Asiya Korepanova and Mark Viner, as well as performances of music by Olivier Messaien for multiple pianos.
The festival also will showcase performers with strong Nebraska connections, including Fountain, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumnus (M.M. 2005; D.M.A. 2008), who serves as dean and professor of piano in the School of Creative Arts at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas.
Fountain said he is especially looking forward to reconnecting with fellow Liszt enthusiasts while introducing visitors to both the university’s upgraded facilities and the city itself.
“As much as I look forward to the musical content at every festival, what I’m most looking forward to are two things: reconnecting with my friends from all over the USA and the world who love Liszt and are devoted to his philanthropic spirit, and introducing those friends to the wonderful new music facilities at UNL as well as the great food and recreation available around Lincoln,” Fountain said.
For Fountain, returning to his alma mater adds another layer of meaning to the event.
“I still think of Lincoln as my second home,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of UNL’s music program, which is a real cultural landmark, one of the oldest and most distinguished music schools in the Midwest, and I’m thrilled to see this international festival adding another highlight to our long list of distinctive offerings. I’ve had a deep love for the state of Nebraska and for the university ever since childhood, and it’s always a joy to return and play a part in our stories.”
Barnes said approximately 125 to 150 registered participants are expected to attend the festival, in addition to performers, audience members and UNL students, who will receive free admission to festival events.
The festival will also provide valuable networking and mentoring opportunities for students, many of whom will perform alongside internationally known artists and educators.
“There’s a good chance they’re going to meet their future graduate-school teacher,” Barnes said. “These students are so good.”
That spirit of mentorship and community, Barnes said, distinguishes the American Liszt Society from many other professional organizations.
“Everybody is there because we love the music,” he said. “We love Liszt’s ministry and musical message. We’re there to support each other and celebrate Liszt’s view of life.”
Barnes said that sense of artistic community has become increasingly meaningful as he reflects on decades of teaching and performance.
“I’m increasingly getting more and more joy out of looking back and seeing the pianistic community that Mark Clinton and I created,” he said.
Fountain credits Barnes with helping shape both his career and artistic philosophy.
“I owe so much of my career to Paul,” Fountain said. “Not just as the teacher who really set me on the path to the career that I’m enjoying, but as someone who, like Liszt, thinks and feels very deeply about the most important things in life and encourages his students and colleagues to do the same. He’s also inspired many of my own efforts as a teacher and administrator to create innovative programs, pursue my dreams, and always keep the eternal significance of every human being at the center of my thoughts.”
For more information on the 2026 American Liszt Society Festival or to register for the festival, visit https://www.americanlisztsociety.net/2026-festival.
