Piano SKU: BT.EMBZ1971
Erste Fassung. Composed by Bela Bartok. Book Only. Composed 1955. 28 pages. Editio Musica Budapest #EMBZ1971. Published by Editio Musica Budapest (BT.EMBZ1971). 'The significance of the Rhapsody composed in 1904 in Gerlicepuszta and Pozsony is well shown by the fact that Bart贸k subsequently reserved the designation 'Opus 1' of his last, mature opus numbering for this piece. By choosing this genre Bart贸k was clearly following in Liszt's footsteps. But he did not merely follow the Hungarian Rhapsodies with their parading of folkloristic art songs in a virtuoso instrumental fantasy. The formal coherence of Bart贸k's work allows us to infer the influence of the large-scale Liszt compositions he then knew, such as the B minor Sonata. Unlike Liszt, Bart贸k builds his Rhapsody not on familiar melodies but on themes of his own invention, yet hisstyle is still that of nineteenth-century folkiness, and draws on the art-music tradition based on the verbunkos and the cs谩rd谩s.' (HCD 32524 Bart贸k New Series Vol. 24, Istv谩n G. N茅meth).
