Rhapsodie hongroise Nr. 2

Preface

The romantic flute repertoire is quite abundant among masterly pieces of performance, so it's only fair to question why there is a need for new versions.

The adaptation of Liszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody to flute, however, was supported by several factors. From the format of a romantic composer like Liszt is, only a few original works can be found on the repertoire. Liszt himself readily revised the works of his contemporaries to his favorite instrument. Let' just think of the Paganini etude.

Finally, the revision seen from a pedagogical perspective provides beginner young flutists with such technical-artistic tasks as keeping pure intonation while performing within the limits of dynamics, the fortissimo performance in the lower registers, and also the exceptionally quick staccato tunes, what provide sufficient preparation for the performance of other pieces of the virtuoso repertoire or at concerts at a later stage.

The rhapsody was polished to a par excellence style in the workshop of Liszt and his young contemporary strongly influenced by the Hungarian music style, Johannes Brahms. In the first fifteen Hungarian rhapsodies Liszt aimed at echoing the special style of performance of the Hungarian gypsies on the piano. Beside the unbound, sometimes improvisatory mode of performance, he used numerous new ornaments and styles of presentation.

In order to enhance the characteristics of the flute, in some instances I made alterations to the original articulation and the instructions to dynamics. Through these distortions did parts of the pieces become more plastic when played on flute, while others looked less instrumental. The real challenge for an artist, however, is the smoothing of these discrepancies. In his fantasy-like and improvisatory pieces written for piano, Liszt used largely unbound pedal signs. Therefore, the instructions for pedals are not mandatory, but the more sophisticated use of the pedals is rather left to the pianist's own taste.

Liszt often equipped his Hungarian rhapsodies written for the piano with a cadence that took the abilities of his pupils into consideration. For the current revision we recommend Leonardo de Lorenzo's cadence, which not only in style but also in technical requirements serves as an adequate complement to the composition.

János Bálint