This being the first entry, I
had envisioned for it to be about something more important, something more
powerful, like maybe Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But, alas, for some
reason, I am totally captivated by these rhapsodies right now, so I
guess we’ll just start here…
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) composed
19 Hungarian Rhapsodies in all. The first fifteen were written as
a set, while the last four were composed at various later dates.
As its title suggests, the Hungarian Rhapsodies are based on Hungarian
folk music. Because of the numerous gypsies living around that area
at the time, much of this music contains gypsy melodies. Like most
of Liszt’s piano music (he was an excellent pianist himself), the Hungarian
Rhapsodies are virtuoso piano pieces that require much technical fluency
from the performer.
Liszt wrote the 19 rhapsodies for the solo piano. 6 of these tunes sound so catchy, however, that people
decided to orchestrate it (ie. to rewrite the music for the entire orchestra).
To this day, the orchestral rhapsodies are way more popular than the piano
versions.
Ok, I have to admit that these
rhapsodies are not exactly top quality stuff. In fact, they may not
even qualify as good music. But what they lack in polish
they make up in spontaneity. With some help from Hollywood and
Warner Brothers, a few of these
rhapsodies are very popular even today (though few people realize what they are listening to).
The most famous of the bunch is probably Rhapsodie no. 2, forever immortalized
by Looney Tunes and various other cartoons.
7.31.00
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2
(midi excerpt)
Note: If you listen through the entire clip, you'll likely to hear at least two familiar themes.