The Hungarian Rhapsodies,
S.244, R.106 (french: Rhapsodies hongroises, german: Ungarische Rhapsodien, hu, Magyar rapszódiák), is a set of 19
piano pieces based on
Hungarian folk themes, composed by
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
during 1846–1853, and later in 1882 and 1885. Liszt also arranged versions for
orchestra, piano duet and
piano trio.
Some are better known than others, with
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor, S.244/2, is the second in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt, and is by far the most famous of the set.
In both the original piano solo form and in the orchestrated version this ...
being particularly famous and
No. 6,
No. 10,
No. 12 and
No. 14 (especially as arranged for piano and orchestra as the
Hungarian Fantasy
The ''Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Melodies'' (German: ''Fantasie über ungarische Volksmelodien'', Hungarian: ''Fantázia magyar népi dallamokkal''), commonly known in short form simply as the ''Hungarian Fantasy'', is Franz Liszt's arrangement fo ...
) also being well known.
In their original piano form, the ''Hungarian Rhapsodies'' are noted for their difficulty (Liszt was a
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
pianist as well as a composer).
Form
Liszt incorporated many themes he had heard in his native western
Hungary and which he believed to be folk music, though many were in fact tunes written by members of the Hungarian upper middle class, or by composers such as
József Kossovits
József Kossovits (born after 1750; died after 1819, possibly in Košice) was a Hungarian composer and cellist.
Kossovits was employed by various members of the Hungarian nobility, including the Andrássy family. Many of his compositions are dan ...
, 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 incorporated a number of effects unique to the sound of Gypsy bands, especially the pianistic equivalent of the
cimbalom. He also makes much use of the
Hungarian gypsy scale.
Extant versions
Nos. 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, and 14 were arranged for
orchestra by
Franz Doppler
Albert Franz Doppler (16 October 182127 July 1883), was a flute virtuoso and a composer best known for his flute music. He also wrote one German and several Hungarian operas for Budapest, all produced with great success. His ballet music was po ...
, 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.
No. 14 was also the basis of Liszt's ''
Hungarian Fantasia'' for piano and orchestra, S.123.
List of the Hungarian Rhapsodies
The set is as follows:
The first two were published in the year 1851, nos. 3–15 in 1853, and the last four were published in 1882 and 1886.
References
Bibliography
*
*
Sony Classical Records, ''Horowitz Plays Rachmaninov and Liszt'' (Sony Music Entertainment (France) Inc., 2003). SMK90447 0904472001
External links
*
{{Authority control
1853 compositions
1882 compositions
1885 compositions
Compositions set in Hungary