While the Rhapsody No. 1 for violin and piano may still be the more popular of the two written by Bartók, the second is the more daring, and also perhaps the more substantive. That said, it is also more complex and, taking into account its lightness and folk dance tune origins, it is quite possibly too ambitious for its modest materials.

Like the Rhapsody No. 1, it is divided into two sections, Prima Parte and Seconda Parte. The opening movement does not have the expected "slow" tempo marking suggested by its parenthetical comment, Lassu (Slow). Thus, instead of a Largo or Adagio, we get a Moderato, but a somewhat slower-sounding one than heard in the First Rhapsody's Prima Parte, which also bore the same tempo marking. The "slower" Moderato movement of Rhapsody No. 2 opens with an exotic but vaguely mournful theme played by the violin. The piano occasionally emerges from its accompanimental role here, but it is the violin that dominates most of the time. The structure of this movement is an odd one, in that there are two inner or trio sections, both of which are surrounded by statements or reprises of the main theme.

The second movement, marked Allegro moderato, begins with a lively rhythm established by the piano, and there follows a succession of six quite attractive dance tunes. Each is presented colorfully, but without a later reprise. Amid this wealth of material a sort of improvisatory atmosphere settles over the proceedings, leaving the impression that the thematic abundance may be too much of a good thing. Still, Bartók's brilliant writing for both instruments and his deft sense for instrumental color largely compensate for the movement's weaknesses. In 1945 the composer, convinced of both the work's flaws and its artistic potential, revised it, reducing its length to about the same ten- or eleven-minute range of the First Rhapsody.

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