Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9 in E-flat major “Pesther Carneval”

Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 — July 31, 1886) was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.

Liszt became renowned throughout Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age and perhaps the greatest pianist of all time.

Hungarian Rhapsodies.

The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R106, (French: Rhapsodies hongroises, German: Ungarische Rhapsodien, Hungarian: Magyar rapszódiák) is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846-1853, and later in 1882 and 1885. Liszt additionally arranged versions for orchestra, piano duet and piano trio.

Piano: Artur Pizarro

 

HOROWITZ – LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 RARE RECORDING 1947

Excerpts from Wikipedia article:

Image via Wikipedia

“The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R106, (French: Rhapsodies hongroises, German: Ungarische Rhapsodien, Hungarian: Magyar rapszódiák) is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846-1853, and later in 1882 and 1885. Liszt also arranged versions for orchestra, piano duet and piano trio.”

“Liszt incorporated many themes he had heard in his native western Hungary and which he believed to be folk music, though many were in fact tunes written by members of the Hungarian upper middle class, or by composers such as József Kossovits,^[1] often played by Roma (Gypsy) bands. The large scale structure of each was 

Liszt Ferenc (musée Franz-Liszt / Budapest) (Photo credit: dalbera)

influenced by the verbunkos, a Hungarian dance in several parts, each with a different tempo. Within this structure, Liszt preserved the two main structural elements of typical Gypsy improvisation – the lassan («slow») and the friska («fast»). At the same time, Liszt incorporated a number of effects unique to the sound of Gypsy bands, especially the pianistic equivalent of the cimbalom. He also makes much use of the Hungarian gypsy scale.”
(Ssource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Rhapsodies) 

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