This is a pivotal work in Bartók's oeuvre in at least two respects: it is the first composition to which he affixed an opus number and the last he composed before embarking on his exploration of folk music. Actually, he began his folk song research in 1905, but turned out no arrangements until the following year, when he produced the first of two sets of (10) Hungarian Folksong arrangements and began the second.

The work is cast in two sections, the first slow and dramatic (Adagio), but having a few thunderous virtuosic passages and divulging a strong Lisztian influence. Indeed, Bartók shows that he was fully capable of juxtaposing the demonic with the religious here, the angelic with the ominous, just the way Liszt so masterfully did. The second part is lively and colorful, moving from the impishly delicate and devilish to the dramatically thunderous. To those Bartók mavens looking for a little-known gem disclosing some early, bold stylistic traits of their favorite composer, this work will offer little reward; but to those willing to weather his Lisztian phase—and mine it for its hardly negligible yield—then this composition—all 20 minutes or so of it—will repay will a significant bounty. In the end, this Rhapsody must be assessed as a finely crafted but derivative effort, whose length may not be fully justified.

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