Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11

The eleventh Hungarian Rhapsody, published in 1853, is based on four themes of Hungarian character whose origins have not yet been determined: Liszt may have noted them down by ear during his trip to Hungary in 1846. Introduced by a soft tremolo quasi cimbalo, a folk-like song, a dance and two csárdás compositions are heard one after the other, whereby echoes of the then popular so-called “gypsy bands” are unmistakable. In a manner unique even within the cosmos of the “Rhapsody” series, the tempo is increased in each new section and the piano texture becomes denser. Parallel to this, the harmonic scope widens, whereby the journey leads from A minor through A major to the brilliant stretta in F-sharp major. For the Urtext edition, which for the first time also takes into account the preserved autograph, two renowned Liszt specialists could once again be engaged: Mária Eckhardt for the preface and Vincenzo Maltempo for the fingerings.