Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher. In the 1840s he was considered by some to be perhaps the greatest pianist of all time. As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the "Neudeutsche Schule" ("New German School"). Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical departures in harmony.