Hungarian Rhapsodies

The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R106, ( _fr. Rapsodies hongroises, _de. Ungarische Rhapsodien, _hu. Magyar rapszódiák) is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846-1853, and later in 1882 and 1885. Liszt additionally arranged versions for orchestra, piano duet and piano trio.

The set is as follows:

* No. 1 in E major ("à son ami E. Zerdahely")
* No. 2 in C-sharp minor ("au Comte Ladislas Teleky")
* No. 3 in B-flat minor ("au Comte Leo Festetics")
* No. 4 in E-flat major ("au Comte Casimir Esterházy")
* No. 5 in E minor, "Héroïde-élégiaque" ("Comtesse Sidonie Reviczky")
* No. 6 in D-flat major ("au Comte Antoine d'Appony")
* No. 7 in D minor ("au Baron Fery Orczy")
* No. 8 in F-sharp minor ("à Anton Augusz")
* No. 9 in E-flat major, "Pesther Carneval" ("à H. W. Ernst")
* No. 10 in E major ("à Béni Egressy")
* No. 11 in A minor ("au Baron Fery Orczy")
* No. 12 in C-sharp minor ("à Joseph Joachim")
* No. 13 in A minor ("au Comte Leo Festetics")
* No. 14 in F major ("à Hans von Bülow")
* No. 15 in A minor, "Rákóczy-Marsch"
* No. 16 in A minor ("Budapest Munkácsy-Festlichkeiten")
* No. 17 in D minor
* No. 18 in F-sharp minor ("ungarischen Ausstellung in Budapest")
* No. 19 in D minor, "d'après les 'Csárdás nobles' de K. Ábrányi (sr)"

The first fifteen were published in the year 1853, with the last four being added in 1882 and 1885.

Form

Liszt incorporated many themes which he had heard in his native Hungary and which he believed to be folk music, though many were in fact tunes written by members of the Hungarian upper middle class [Walker, "Virtuoso", 341.] , often played by Roma (Gypsy) bands. The large scale structure of each was influenced by the verbunkos, a Hungarian dance in several parts, each with a different tempo. Within this structure, Liszt preserved the two main structural elements of typical Gypsy improvisation—the "lassan" ("slow") and the "friska" ("fast"). At the same time, Liszt incorporates a number of effects unique to the sound of Gypsy bands, especially the pianistic quivalent of the cimbalom. He also makes much use of the Hungarian gypsy scale. [Walker, "Virtuoso", 335-6.]

Extant versions

Numbers 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, and 14 were arranged for orchestra by Franz Doppler with revisions by Liszt himself. These orchestrations appear as S.359 in the Searle catalogue. However, the numbers given to these versions were different from their original numbers. The orchestral rhapsodies numbered 1-6 correspond to the piano solo versions numbered 14, 2, 6, 12, 5 and 9 respectively.

In 1874, Liszt also arranged the same six rhapsodies for piano duet (S.621). In 1882 he made a piano duet arrangement of No. 16 (S.622), and in 1885 a piano duet version of No. 18 (S.623) and No. 19 (S.623a). Liszt also arranged No. 12 (S.379a) and No. 9 (S.379) for piano, violin and cello.

Number 14 was also the basis of Liszt's "Hungarian Fantasia" for piano and orchestra, S.123. Some are better known than others, with number 2 being particularly famous. Numbers 10 and 6 are also well known.

In their original piano form, the "Hungarian Rhapsodies" are noted for their difficulty (Liszt was a virtuoso pianist as well as a composer).

Bibliography

* Walker, Alan, "Franz Liszt: Volume 1, The Virtuoso Years: 1811-1847" (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1983). ISBN 0-394-52540-X

References

External links

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