humusic1-3, Exercise 2: Rhapsodies and Dances

Model answer (check the details):

Sources: both drew on the popular urban style of verbunkos and csardas played by Roma bands, with tunes from published songs and from musicians. Liszt knew the music from Hungarian life and from Roma players. Brahms learned many tunes from the Hungarian violinist Eduard Remenyi (check). Neither used peasant folk song collected in the field.

Purpose: Liszt wrote concert pieces for the piano, showing his virtuosity and his Hungarian identity. Brahms made arrangements for piano four hands, meant for amateurs to play at home, and later in orchestral form.

How each shaped the image: Liszt's Rhapsodies gave concert audiences a picture of fiery, improvised Hungarian music with Roma-band colour. Brahms's Dances put a similar picture into thousands of homes. Together they fixed an idea of "Hungarian music" that Bartok and Kodaly would later challenge with their field collections (Chapter 4).