I have some questions regarding Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, namely how many DID he write? There were 17 I THINK, but I am checking here. I can recognize the 2nd and 6th if I hear them, but others leave me numberless. Martha Argerich is great with the 6th (leaving me speechless instead) and Everybody seems to play the 2nd.
I was just curious how long it took Liszt to write all these pieces, and if any of them have little nicknames like the "blackkey Rhap" or "WhiteKnuckleSunday" or other even MORE clever sobriquets. (Perhaps at this point I should beg the Chopiners to purge their urge and refrain their distain, but I won't).
Is there a single collection of recordings of all the rhapsodies ?
Which are "the" most popular, or more fitting perhaps which are your favorites?

My second question has to do with Prokofiev, whose Peter and the Wolf I enjoyed as a kid, but who ALSO wrote those driving pounding Toccatas. I really like the ones Ive heard but again dont know how many he wrote total, or if they ALL have been recorded. I've heard both Byron Janis and M.Algerich do the 2nd taccota (recordings of course) and heard #3 recently at the OK Mozart Festival.

[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: RKVS1 ]

This is what I know in the way of Rhapsodie nick names: No. 9 is nicknamed "Carnival in Pest" and No. 15 is "Rakoczi Marsch" I'm guessing that the Marsch means march in english but I don't know. I have no idea what Rakoczi means in english.

Hi RKVS1,

All in all there are 19 (plus some different versions of a few of them). Leslie Howard has recorded them on a double CD for Hyperion Records. If you search on their website below you can find the listing for the CD (which includes all the extra names).

www.hyperion-records.co.uk

RKVS1:
As others have already indicated there are 19 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies. A glance at a recent Schwann catalogue shows that there are at least three "complete" recordings of the Rhapsodies, including those by Howard (Hyperion), Campanella (Philips), Szidon (Deutsche Grammophon). By far the most popular is the 2nd in c# minor, followed by the 6th in Db, and then the 12th; this, again, in number of recordings made as catalogued in Schwann.
I recommend the Szidon recording on DG, (DG 423 925-2 on two CDs) not only because it is on their mid-priced label, Galleria, but because, overall, it represents fine performances of all the Rhapsodies.
Regards,

[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: BruceD ]

Jgoo:
From the liner notes of the Szidon recording of the complete (19) Hungarian Rhapsodies, this is what is said about number 15, the Rakoczy March:

"No 15 is based on the Rakoczy March, a tune associated with the Hungarian national hero Francis Rakoczy who had led the Hungarian rising in 1703-11. It was composed, allegedly on airs from his day, in 1809 by Janos Bihart, a gypsy violinist, and arranged for military band for the use of a Pest regiment in the fight against Napoleon. Liszt was the first to make concert use of it, though it has also become famous in Berlioz's version for orchestra as it appears in "La Damnation de Faust."

I thought that you and others might find this interesting and informative.
Regards,

[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: BruceD ]

About this Rakoczy March, Brahms also wrote a transcription of this piece for piano-solo. It's not to difficult to play; I don't know the version of Liszt, but I think his will be more difficult...

Chaconne