Overview

Liszt wrote all these Rhapsodies after having abandoned the career of the travelling virtuoso. Most of them were composed in Weimar. Some of them he played in public, though only on rare occasions; for instance, he played the Thirteenth Rhapsody at a concert in London, only a few months before his death. The ten of the nineteen in print selected for the present volume are the best known of the Rhapsodies, each a representative member of this unique musical family. The Second Rhapsody, the first in this volume, is one of the most widely known pieces of music ever written. Aside from its musical merits it had the distinction of being the composition most dreaded by the master himself, when an insufficiently prepared pianist tried to play it for him at the Hofg rtnerei in Weimar. Strangely enough the principal subject of the dashing Finale is not an original Hungarian melody, but one can safely say that it is of Hungarian extraction. The Sixth Rhapsody is remarkable for the prevailing joyous mode, the melancholy section being a short one, sandwiched between a pungent presto and a jolly allegro. The Eighth Rhapsody has the peculiarity of starting off without any defined rhythm; only after the introductory measures does the composer state two quarters as the rhythm. The Ninth Rhapsody is subnamed by the composer Carnaval de Pesth, and the main theme of the first portion, the sempre moderato a capriccio, is unmistakably of Italian character. However, when it reappears in the Finale it seems to have changed its character somewhat, the Hungarian deviltries having left their stamp on it. In its daring this interesting and quite extended rhapsody reminds one indeed of the carnival. The Tenth is comparatively simple, its main feature being the graceful glissando scales in ascending and descending direction. The Eleventh is one of the shortest rhapsodies, with a drawn-out introduction of changing modes and a very striking coda. It starts in A minor, but winds up in F sharp major. The popularity of the Twelfth Rhapsody is surpassed only by the Second. This is perhaps the most rhapsodic rhapsody, brimming over with a wealth of characteristic melodies. The Thirteenth Rhapsody consists of only two sections, an andante and a vivace. As hinted above, this rhapsody was a piece favored of the composer. The Fourteenth is very elaborate and quite long. There are splendid contrasts between the Funeral March at the beginning, the Allegretto Zingarese and the dizzy whirl of the Finale. Liszt has also arranged this rhapsody for piano with orchestral accompaniment. The Fifteenth Rhapsody is hardly a rhapsody in the true meaning of the word, but a rhapsodic treatment of the celebrated R k czy March....

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