Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies

[frederic]

Hi everyone  

I'm not very familiar to his hungarian rhapsodies so can you tell me what are his most famous ones. Well i know no.2 is famous (is it really difficult?)
And which ones are the easiest?

I like no.12 but its....yeah...difficult.

[ned]

I would recommend No 5, 6, and 11.  In addition, no 7 is good - quite primitive in some respects and not too hard. I think No's 1, 2, 9, 12, 14 are a bit bombastic and too long. No 3 is the shortest and also exotic.  No 4 is lovely and no 10 is really good with the sparkling glissandi but it ends too abruptly in my view. No 4 and 10 are difficult. No 8 is good in the beginning. No 13 is very beautiful but slow to get going.
You might look at no's 16-19 for Liszt's "late" style. Pretty austere stuff.
I highly recommend having some rhapsodies in your repertoire!
Ned

[BuyBuy]

Of course, nº 2 is the most famous. 6 and 12 are also the most played.

If you want the easiest ones, here is what I think :

- 3 and 5 are easier because of the slow tempo

- 13 might not be too hard depending on your technical abilities (fast left hand jumps, fast repeated notes, martellatos of octaves...) and is one of my favorites because it is very expressive and has variety

- 16, 17, 18 are not bad, but their style is different, not as exuberant, and not so representative of what we think about when we say "Liszt hungarian rhapsodies"

So if you can, I'd rather go for nº 13.

[frederic]

Thanks for the suggestions!
I love the rhapsodies! The mood changes so rapidly and very attractive pieces!
I'm going for No. 12, just for fun...

Wish me luck!

Any advices?

[frederic]

HEY?!!? Wheres Willcowskitz when i need him??!

[titos]

  I don't know if you have already started working on Rhapsody No.13 Frederic, but I would suggest you think also about No.6, 10 and 12. Many people in this forum like 12 (and not without a reason!), but I personally like 6 and 10 extremely. Anyway, the decision is definitely yours. Listen, if you can, to Nelson Freire playing No.10 and Horowitz playing No.6... I am sure you will love them!

                                                                   Titos

[trunks]

If you wish to be showy, go for 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15.

If you want some humour, 11 has some in the ending section.

If you want a touching melody, definitely go for 5. A solemn march having some of Liszt's most poignant melodies in the middle section.

If you want to play the 'easier' ones, look for 3, 5, 13. Surprisingly 13 is very effective as a showpiece yet quite easy to me, even the showy ending section. I actually find the slow section more difficult to play.

2, 10, 12, 14 and 15 all have heaps of passages to challenge the pianist's technical abilities. Be prepared for the amount of time practising them. The 'easiest' of these five, in my opinion, is 15 (Rakoczy March).

Listen to Artur Rubinstein's recording in 1956 on the RCA label of 10 & 12. They have to be the very final, most authoritative statements on these pieces any pianist could ever make.

On 2, 3, 8, 13, 15 & 17, look for Alfred Brendel's recording on the Vanguard label.

Otherwise Leslie Howard's complete recording on the Hyperion label is a must.

[rachlisztchopin]

No one has mentioned the 9th hungarian rhapsody!?!?! why not!?!? it is an awesome one, i reccommend it allong with the others mentioned. Its the Carnaval rhapsody and has an amazing ending!