The mood of the lassan is generally dark and melancholic, although it contains some playful and capricious moments. From this point on, the composer modulates freely, particularly to the tonic major and the relative major. Although beginning on the C-sharp major triad, C-sharp minor is soon established as the home key. The first is the lassan, with its brief but dramatic introduction. The piece consists of two distinct sections. Offering an outstanding contrast to the serious and dramatic lassan, the following friska holds enormous appeal for audiences, with its simple alternating tonic and dominant harmonization, its energetic, toe-tapping rhythms, and breath-taking 'pianistics'. It had become an expected staple of virtually every performance of the greatest pianists of the time. In addition to the orchestral version, the composer arranged a piano duet version in 1874, published by Schuberth the following year.īy the late 19th century and early 20th century, the excruciating technical challenges of the piano solo version led to its acceptance as the 'unofficial standard' by which every notable pianist would 'prove his salt', usually as a smashing finale. Its immediate success and popularity on the concert stage soon led to an orchestrated version, arranged by the composer in collaboration with Franz Doppler, and published by Schuberth.

2 was first published as a piano solo in 1851 by Senff and Ricordi. Although this prolific composer's works are highly varied in style, a relatively large part of his output is nationalistic in character, the Hungarian Rhapsodies being an ideal example.Ĭomposed in 1847 and dedicated to Count László Teleki, Hungarian Rhapsody No. These elements would eventually play a significant role in Liszt's compositions.

The Hungarian-born composer and pianist Franz Liszt was strongly influenced by the music heard in his youth, particularly Hungarian folk music, with its unique gypsy scale, rhythmic spontaneity and direct, seductive expression.

Its themes have also served as the basis of several popular songs. In both the original piano solo form and in the orchestrated version this composition has enjoyed widespread use in animated cartoons. Few other piano solos have achieved such widespread popularity, offering the pianist the opportunity to reveal exceptional skill as a virtuoso, while providing the listener with an immediate and irresistible musical appeal. 2, 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.

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