19 Hungarian Rhapsodies

Liszt’s most famous work, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (1851) is perhaps best known from performances by Bugs Bunny (Rhapsody Rabbit) and Tom and Jerry (The Cat Concerto) in cartoons released in 1946. The basic template of the piece—with a slow section (lassú) leading to a fast section (friska), in line with the common form of Hungarian folk dance and Gypsy improvisation—is found in most of Liszt’s 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies. He composed the first 15 between 1847 and 1853, although many are based on earlier material compiled during his years as a touring virtuoso; he finalised these once he had settled in Weimar to dedicate more time to composition. The final four Rhapsodies are late pieces, quite different in style, composed in the 1880s. Although Liszt used melodies he had heard played by Gypsy musicians, he made no distinction between authentic folk tunes and the sort of popular themes played by travelling musicians of the kind that one might have encountered on a Budapest street corner. In addition, there is every chance that some of the melodies are Liszt’s own. Most of the Hungarian Rhapsodies revel in the kind of flashy virtuosity that has become associated with his style, including rapid right-hand scales and figurations (as in No. 2), octave passages (famously in the final pages of No. 6) and glissandos (No. 10). Melodies are often heavily ornamented, especially in the slow introductions, while the fast sections brim with colourful evocations of Hungarian folk instruments, particularly the cimbalom.