According to Charles Rosen, the Hungarian Rhapsodies represent "the least respectable side of Liszt." Their charm lies not in their musical invention, but in their dazzling expansion of the range of expression possible on the piano, or, as Rosen puts it, "the various noises that can be made with a piano."

When Liszt visited Hungary in 1839, he had been away from the country for 13 years. This visit, plus another in 1840, prompted the production of ten volumes of piano pieces between 1840 and 1847 based on Hungarian themes. In 1851-1853, Liszt published 15 of these works as the Hungarian Rhapsodies, composing and publishing four more in 1882-1886.

While in Hungary, Liszt transcribed numerous melodies performed by indigenous gypsy bands. By using these "ancient" melodies in his Hungarian Rhapsodies, Liszt saw himself as immortalizing the Hungarian race. Actually, many of the tunes Liszt rhapsodized were written by contemporary Hungarian composers and had become popular outside the cities. Like most tourists, Liszt didn't care. He also didn't care that the blatantly flashy, non-musical piano passages in all of the Rhapsodies prompted the contempt of Schumann and Chopin.

The large-scale organization of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies derives from the multi-sectional nineteenth century verbunkos. The Verbunkos is a Hungarian dance style derived from the method of recruiting troops in Hungary in the eighteenth century. It features at least two contrasting sections: the slow lassu, or lassan, and the fast friss, or friska. Liszt varies the number and order of these in the various Rhapsodies, in some cases linking the sections, in others, creating a stream of unrelated ideas in the traditional fashion of a rhapsody.

In the second of Liszt's Rhapsodies, we hear one lassu followed by one lengthy friss, all prefaced by a brief introduction. Typically, the sudden changes of material interrupt what would otherwise be a constant race to the end. While the lassu maintains the opening key of C sharp minor until its very close, the friss is generally in the major mode, closing on F sharp major.

Liszt's approach to the lassu/friss structure is somewhat different in Rhapsody No. 13, in A minor. In the opening lassu, he puts two motives from the second melody through developmental treatment. This leads to a climax, a concept far removed from the gypsy style of music performance. Liszt makes conspicuous use of one Hungarian scale, with a raised fourth degree, while other Hungarian scales appear in Nos. 16 and 17, both beginning in minor keys.

Western art music also permeates Rhapsody No. 14, in F minor. The piece begins with a somber melody with a distinctive rhythmic pattern. In the friss, the same tune and rhythm appear in thick chords, smoothing over the sudden changes that are typical of the traditional verbunkos.

The eleventh Rhapsody adheres more closely to the "gypsy style." Opening with a lento a capriccio, the piece gradually accelerates through three sections, the first of which is a typical verbunkos, the next two evoking the style of the Hungarian csárdás.

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No.2 in C#-

Liszt was proud of his Hungarian origins, yet his command of Hungarian was poor and he remained a tourist in his putative homeland until the end of his life. This was a formula for misunderstandings, of which the Hungarian Rhapsodies are the richest, most controversial, and most glorious. A European celebrity, Liszt made a triumphal return to Hungary in December 1839, staying until the end of January 1840, during which he made the acquaintance of Gypsy bands roaming the Hungarian countryside and heard them perform, on violins and cymbals, a great deal of music in a wildly impassioned, improvisatory manner which affected him deeply and impelled him to translate its effects to the piano. Unaware that many of the melodies upon which the Gypsies visited their flair - and which he notated scrupulously - were salon fare, Liszt supposed them to be parts of a vast "Gypsy epos," a sort of musical Hungarian oversoul, which he set about recreating in a series of piano pieces, the Magyar dalok & Magyar rapszódiák. But these proved to be mere preliminary drafts for the magnificent series of fifteen Hungarian Rhapsodies composed between 1847 and 1853. (The Rhapsodies XVI-XIX are much later and quite different in style.) Meanwhile, Liszt's confusion of Gypsy manner with Hungarian music was received as a national affront in Hungary, while the systematic exploration of genuine Hungarian folk music awaited the attentions of Kodály and Bartók in the early years of the twentieth century. But in the upshot, Liszt derived from the Gypsies the immemorial pattern of a slow, elegiac first section (lassú) leading to a propulsive, often vertiginous, fast section (friss), and a peculiarly kinetic improvised manner of bringing them off.



Of all the works in Liszt's enormous, labyrinthine catalogue, the Second Hungarian Rhapsody is the best known or, at least, the most familiar. Composed probably in 1847, and published in 1851, its popularity became baneful to Liszt himself, and it was one of a handful of works which he would not allow his students to play to him. Since, its satirical use by everyone from Bugs Bunny to Tom Lehrer has saddled it with risible associations which render it nearly impossible to hear in its appropriate context. Curiously, it is the only one of the series of Hungarian Rhapsodies I-XV whose thematic materials are not to be found in the Magyar dalok & Magyar rapszódiák. The effusively ruminative opening theme was noted by Liszt in a sketchbook of 1846 as something heard, but the origins of the remainder remain untraceable and may be original. Proceeding by a series of broad melodic coups piqued by cimbalom imitations, this surefire piece rises in giddy effervescence to a direction for a "cadenza ad libitum" which pianists from d'Albert and Rachmaninov to Marc-André Hamelin have been happy to supply. Supervised and reworked by Liszt, an orchestral arrangement in D minor by Franz Doppler has also become a repertory staple.

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No.2 in C#- - No.2 in C#- (arr. piano 4-hands)

Liszt's transcriptions were generally a matter of reducing larger works to the keyboard, like the nine Beethoven symphonies and numerous arias and other music from popular operas of his day. But he also occasionally expanded a solo piano or other smaller work to the orchestral realm, such as the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14, which became the Hungarian Fantasia for piano and orchestra. In a sense, this version of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 for piano four-hands, is both a reduction and an expansion: it qualifies as the former since it is a transcription of the orchestral version of the Rhapsody, but since the ultimate source work is the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 for solo piano, it is also an expansion. The work features virtually the same folk-inspired music in the other two versions. Naturally, Liszt beefed up the orchestral rendition and thus this four-hand arrangement reflects the higher-calorie textures and flashier, more bombastic elements in that work. The famous themes from the slower first half and Vivace and Prestissimo sections of the latter part effectively come across in all versions, though the four-hand piano account somewhat scales back the bombast of the orchestral version and may be the preferred choice for many listeners wanting an expanded account. Like the other versions, it has a duration of ten minutes.

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No.3 in Bb

The Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 is one of the more modest of the 19 works in the set. Like many of his piano compositions, this one has an earlier version: its Andante music appeared in No. 11 in the set of 21 pieces comprising the Magyar Dalok (1839—1847). This B flat minor Third is largely subdued and intimate in mood and makes fewer technical demands on the soloist than many of the more extroverted and flashy Rhapsodies. Because of its more demure character and its position in the set—following the ever-popular No. 2—it has often been overlooked. Yet it is one of the finest and thematically most colorful of all the Rhapsodies. It opens with a dark theme in the lower register, whose character is more than vaguely similar to much of the thematic material in the first half of the Rhapsody No. 2. A second melody soon follows, a much more exotic creation in its shimmering manner and mandolin-like sonorities. The opening theme returns, but with seeming anger in its emphatic chords in the bass. The exotic melody is heard again before the piece rather abruptly and darkly ends. The work lasts about four-and-a-half minutes.

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No.6 in Db

Liszt was among the first major composers to collect and use folk music in his compositions. He believed all of the melodies he assembled for the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies were of Gypsy origin, though later research, largely by Bartók and Kodály, proved their sources were spread across Hungary with Gypsy styles still imbuing the themes. The Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 is among the more varied and popular of the 19, featuring the pompous and the playful, the exotic and the flashy. In a sense, this work—good though it is in its catchy, light manner—is precisely the kind of piece that had wrongly tagged Liszt as shallow and virtuosic. It opens with a bold march-like melody, marked Tempo giusto, whose robust mixture of grandeur and glee imparts a celebratory mood. The ensuing theme (Presto) is playful and also somewhat festive. Only the next melody (Andante—quasi improvisato) has a particularly exotic character in its dark, Gypsy-like music. The closing section features a lively theme (Allegro) that first takes on a playful manner and then, as rapid octaves hammer out the theme with driving vehemence (Presto), the mood turns rollicking and the music challenging to the pianist. This Rhapsody typically lasts seven minutes.

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No.8 in F#-

Some listeners may already know that Liszt did not necessarily use genuine folk melodies in his Hungarian Rhapsodies. In No. 8 here, he did employ a melody from the Hungarian folk song Kaka toven kolt a ruca, but also made use of a tune by Márk Rózsavölgyi. What is generally Hungarian about the works in the set, however, is the folkish cast Liszt is able to impart to the music. Gypsy flavors abound and many other ethnic styles indigenous to Hungary infuse the notes, but Liszt also injects his own colorful and virtuosic style throughout the works. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8, nicknamed by some "Capriccio" apparently after its marking of Lento e capriccio, begins with a short, dramatic introduction. The ensuing main theme is slow and melancholy, and draws all sorts of ornamentation. Here, Liszt attempts to imitate the sounds of the cimbalom, a Hungarian version of the dulcimer whose strings are struck by little hammers. When the second theme appears midway through, the mood brightens and the music evokes images of a peasant celebration. The festive manner turns rollicking at the close as pianistic fireworks abound. This attractive Rhapsody has a duration of six to seven minutes.

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No.9 in Eb

There are two versions of Carnival in Pest: the earlier and less well-known one (S. 242) (the Magyar Rapszodiak No. 22 dating to 1846) and the later one, which stands as the ninth in the Hungarian Rhapsodies (1847—1853). The former was placed in a group of 22 works, the first 11 of which are the Magyar Dalok (1839—1840), which contain the early versions of many of the Hungarian Rhapsodies. Liszt, chronic recycler that he was, also made versions of the Carnival in Pest for piano, four hands, and for piano, violin, and cello. The differences between the two Carnival in Pest works for solo piano are not great, both having more or less the same dramatic opening and a structure featuring a parade of Hungarian dance themes, the last of which, drawn on the folk song Mikor en meg legeny voltam, occupies most of the latter half of the work. In either version, the music is quite tuneful and colorful, if a bit bombastic. While the original rendition is similar to its sibling, there are some significant differences. For example, the corresponding Andante section appearing before the finale in the later version is marked Piu allegro in the earlier one. In the end, the later effort must be assessed as having superior piano writing and a somewhat more subtle sense of color. Both works have a duration of 11 to 12 minutes.

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No.10 in E

As his admirers are well aware, Liszt made second and third (and sometimes more) versions of many of his piano works. In fact, relatively few exist in only one rendition. Some, however, merely involve a rather elaborate ossia, a different way to play a certain passage within the score. That is the case with the two versions of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 under examination here. The more difficult version is now the most familiar one, featuring glissandos in the last section where the alternative offers less-challenging music, but music that somewhat changes the character of the work. In the end, it is the better-known, difficult version that must be judged as the most appealing. The tenth Rhapsody opens with a dramatic introduction of emphatic chords and upward runs, after which the graceful main theme is heard as an actual elaboration on a melody by Egressy. It is somewhat developed and then a faster, more exotic variation emerges from the bass register. The aforementioned closing section features another variant, more playful in the easier version, splashier and more virtuosic in the glissando rendition. Both typically have a duration of six minutes.

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No.11 in A-

This is one of the shorter Hungarian Rhapsodies, but still clocks in around five or six minutes. It is quite colorful in its evocation of the sonorities of the cimbalom, a Hungarian instrument similar to the dulcimer. Liszt also attempted to conjure its exotic sounds in No. 8 in this set and, as here, he generally succeeded. This Rhapsody has four continuous sections, the first two being slow, marked Lento a capriccio and Andante sostenuto, respectively, and the last two quite lively, marked Vivace assai and Prestissimo. The piece opens with an introduction of trill-like quivering chords that eventually lead to morsels of a playful, jaunty theme. Soon, the music turns more animated despite the slower marking, the theme clearly emerging and accruing more color from Liszt's deft ornamentation and other keyboard effects. In the Vivace assai section, the writing mimics the aforementioned cimbalom sonorities in lively, delicate music. In the final section, notes race as the mood turns rollicking and festive, and if Liszt seems to pour on the bombast here, he does not shortchange the listener in excitement and thrills. In the end, this must be assessed a colorful, light effort that is more memorable for its dazzle than its themes.

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No.12 in C#-

Expressing both electrifyingly patriotic and gentler familial feelings, this piece also presents elements (such as variations on gestural fragments and presaging of themes) of Liszt's unique one-movement form.

The work opens with a powerfully dramatic statement in octaves of a Maestoso theme in C sharp minor. The melody is played with that same kind of double-stroke or fanfare-like gesture, a grace note to the primary tone on the same pitch, which Liszt employed in the Hungarian Rhapsody cycle. A low rumbling tremolo, which crescendos from piano to fortissimo, follows the first phrase. The second phrase answers the first a fifth higher.

An ascending theme, surrounded by accented arpeggio offbeats, builds the excitement. After a held chord, a furious descending fanfare passage leads to a roaring bass trill and fast scale run introducing an even more dramatic descending passage in double-stroke chords.

The theme is then stated again, but is harmonized this time, creating a more tragic air. A passage, alternating between E major and its relative C sharp minor, provides a mix of reflection and regret, that concludes with a dolce passages ending in a staccato chord as if the player is abandoning the thought before becoming lost in a lyrical sadness. In fact, the music immediately returns to the dramatic theme stated with full chords above a roaring chromatic bass. This passage also concludes with a staccato chord plus a long pause allowing the feeling of pathos to fade away.

Completely changing the mood, but seeming to be a development of the previous few major-key measures, is an Allegro zingarese, a fast, lively tune in a gypsy violin style, played in the high treble. But the previous minor drama remains silent in the background to re-emerge briefly in the minor cadences at the end of each statement of the lively tune. A high treble variation, quasi campanelle (like bells), over busy and buoyant Alberti figures, concludes, however, with a bright C sharp major (Picardy third) chord.

A second subject, played dolce con grazia (sweetly with grace), alternating between A major and F sharp minor follows. Rondo-like, the initial dramatic subject returns with chromatic on-rushing bass octaves with right-hand tremolos above. The previous major passage is now played quasi Marcia (like a march), and the descending double-stroke chords are extended in a commanding strepitoso (clamorous) passage.

A second lively, joking (Allegro giocoso) theme in the enharmonic key of D flat major enters. A bell-like variation is again made on the theme, ending in a bright cascade. A vivace stretto, employing a Wagnerian modulation between D flat major and A major between alternating phrases, enters, and develops from tuneful to bell-like to concerto-like gestures. The coda is a wild statement of the D flat theme at a fortississimo dynamic, suddenly interrupted by the ominous opening theme. A stupendous Presto with a combined Wagnerian/Classical progression (F sharp minor, D flat major, G flat major, D flat major) concludes the work.

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No.13 in A-

This is one of the least-popular Hungarian Rhapsodies, seldom appearing on recital programs or on recordings except as part of the entire set. Yet it is one of the better Rhapsodies, featuring less glitter and more substance than usual. Liszt used a lively, catchy theme in the third section (of four) that Sarasate also used in his Zigeunerweisen. He also employed two melodies from Hungarian folk songs: Ketten mentuk, Harman jottunk, which appears in the opening, and Akkor szép az erdo, mikor zold, which he used in the latter half. The work begins with a lovely rendition of the Ketten mentuk theme, marked Andante sostenuto. Here and in the succeeding section (Piu lento), Liszt deftly imparted Gypsy flavors to the music with brilliant keyboard writing that mixes the warmer lyrical side of his style with exotic ethnic colors. In the ensuing Vivace section, the mood turns playful, an infectious joy permeating the folkish music. Here, listeners can compare Liszt's deft use of the theme with Sarasate's imaginative rendition for violin. Liszt's ending (Presto assai) contains a healthy measure of virtuosic fireworks, hardly a rare feature in his lighter works. This piece typically lasts nine or ten minutes.

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No.14 in F-

In some reference works and recording album notes, this is called the most famous of the Hungarian Rhapsodies (19), although a better case can still be made for No. 2 as the most well known. The Rhapsody in F major here may be equally familiar to listeners in its other guise as the First of the six orchestral Hungarian Rhapsodies. The work also exists in a third version, the Hungarian Fantasia for piano and orchestra. This solo piano rendition opens with a dramatic, dark march-like episode (Lento quasi marcia funebre) in the bass register, based on the main theme. That theme then appears in a heroic, proud rendition marked Allegro eroico. This somewhat chameleonic tune comes from the Hungarian folk song Magasan repül a daru. The mood then turns light and soon a playful, colorful melody of Gypsy character appears. After the main theme returns in bold chords, a new lively melody brings on a festive mood amid much virtuosic writing. The tempos are fast—Presto assai and Allegro brioso—and the ending is filled with keyboard dazzle, folkish swagger, and a healthy dose of bombast. This piece typically has a duration of 12 minutes.

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No.15 in A- ('Rakoczy March')

There are quite a number of versions of the Rákóczi-Marsch, including one for two pianos (S. 652a); for two pianos, eight hands (S. 652b); for piano, four hands (S. 608); and three for solo piano. This one is the final and most commonly played rendition; indeed, it is one of the most popular of the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, which together make up one of the earliest examples of a major composer systemically using folk themes in his music. That said, not all of the themes in these works were of genuine folk origin, as was the case with the main one in this Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15. Its march tune was written by the largely forgotten Hungarian composer Michael Barma in recognition of Prince Francis Rákóczi, who was a heroic figure in the failed Hungarian Revolt (1703 - 1711) against Austrian Hapsburg rule. Berlioz used the theme in his choral work Damnation of Faust (1845 - 1846). Liszt's colorful use of it deftly infuses this piece with the necessary Hungarian flavors, but also imparts a lighthearted sense to the music, making Rákóczi a likable hero, not a stern-faced warrior. After menacingly presenting the robust theme in the bass, Liszt raises it to the middle ranges and it takes on a more epic guise. Afterward, amid much virtuosic writing, the music turns playful and then leads into a distant variant of the theme, which is also quite playful. The main theme returns after a typically feverish Lisztian buildup, and the piece ends in a blaze of grandiose and virtuosic writing. The "Rákóczi-Marsch" lasts about six minutes in performance.

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No.17 in D-

The first 14 Hungarian Rhapsodies were composed in the period 1847 —1853, though most have roots dating back to 1839—1840 when original versions appeared in a set of 11 Magyar Dalok. The last five Rhapsodies were added in the years 1871—1886. This one was written and published in 1882 and shares with No. 18 the distinction of being the shortest of the Rhapsodies, each having a duration of just over three minutes. For all its brevity though, this D minor effort, like most of the other later Rhapsodies, is much deeper and darker than the comparatively lighter, more virtuosic earlier ones. Gone are the garish colors here, the festivity, the Gypsy exoticism, and the slam-bang dazzle. Instead, Liszt, who had taken minor orders in the Catholic church and long since shed his virtuosic phase, presents a somber theme of marginally Hungarian character. Gradually, the music grows restless in its gloom, becoming more animated and agitated until it explodes in a rage of vehement bass chords and octaves, intent on crushing everything in sight with its triple forte dynamics. The work is rousing, to be sure, but a dark and angry statement of the elderly composer.

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No.19 in D-

The last five Hungarian Rhapsodies (1871—1886) are much more serious, much less showy works than the earlier ones (1847—1853). This, the final of the 19, however, somewhat harkens back to the more colorful character of the first 14. It is based on the Csárdás nobles by Komel Ábrányi, known more as a music critic than as a composer. Though its textures are comparatively skeletal and its technical demands more modest, this D minor Rhapsody has the Hungarian flavors and brighter moods predominant earlier in the series. It opens with a somewhat tart theme in the lower register that seems to wander at times, moving into the upper register only to fall back down. Gradually, the theme becomes more sharply defined, more muscular, and tangy in its Hungarian character. Harmonies here divulge Liszt's more experimental persona during this time. Midway through, the tempo changes from Lento to Vivace and the theme takes on an entirely different character, bouncing about in its rhythmic mischief with the music often focusing on a catchy, four-note motif. The ending recalls some of Liszt's more flashy writing from decades before, but largely dispenses with bombast in the colorful romp. This Rhapsody typically has a duration of ten minutes.

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