The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular works and were the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four hands and later arranged the first ten dances for solo piano.

Background

Brahms' Hungarian Dances should be placed in the context of interest in folk music. Both Haydn and Boccherini refer frequently to gypsy music, but in Brahms' day it was Franz Liszt with his Hungarian rhapsodies who was an inspiration to Brahms, both artistically and financially (despite their differences in musical philosophy). In 1850 Brahms met the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi and accompanied him in a number of recitals over the next few years. This was his introduction to "gypsy-style" music such as the csárdás, which was later to prove the foundation of his most lucrative and popular compositions, the two sets of Hungarian Dances (published 1869 and 1880).

Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. The better-known Hungarian Dances include Nos. 1 and 5, the latter of which was based on the csárdás "Bártfai emlék" (Memories of Bártfa) by Hungarian composer Béla Kéler, which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong. A footnote on the Ludwig-Masters edition of a modern orchestration of Hungarian Dance No. 1 states: "The material for this dance is believed to have come from the Divine Csárdás (ca. 1850) of Hungarian composer and conductor Miska Borzó."

List

Book 1. (published in 1869)

1. in G minor: Allegro molto

2. in D minor (orch. Hallén, 1882): Allegro non assai – Vivace

3. in F major: Allegretto

4. in F minor (F♯ minor in Juon's 1933 orchestration): Poco sostenuto – Vivace

5. in F♯ minor (G minor in Parlow's 1876 orchestration): Allegro – Vivace
   
   Book 2. (published in 1869)
   

6. in D♭ major (D major in Parlow's 1876 orchestration): Vivace

7. in A major (F major in Brahms's solo piano arrangement): Allegretto – Vivo

8. in A minor: Presto

9. in E minor: Allegro ma non troppo

10. in E major (F major for orchestra): Presto
    
    Book 3. (published in 1880; Parlow's orchestrations of these six were made in 1885 without any change of key)
    

11. in D minor: Poco andante

12. in D minor: Presto

13. in D major: Andantino grazioso – Vivace

14. in D minor: Un poco andante

15. in B♭ major: Allegretto grazioso

16. in F minor: Con moto – F major: Presto
    
    Book 4. (published in 1880; Dvořák's orchestrations of these five were made in October and November of the same year without any change of key)

17. in F♯ minor: Andantino – Vivace

18. in D major: Molto vivace

19. in B minor: Allegretto

20. in E minor: Poco allegretto – Vivace

21. in E minor: Vivace – E major: Più presto

Arrangements and influences

Brahms wrote orchestral arrangements for Nos. 1, 3 and 10. Other composers have orchestrated the other dances. These composers include Antonín Dvořák (Nos. 17 to 21), Andreas Hallén (Nos. 2, 4 and 7), Paul Juon (No. 4), Martin Schmeling (1864–1943) (Nos. 5 to 7), Hans Gál (Nos. 8 and 9), Albert Parlow [de] (Nos. 5, 6 in 1876 and 11 to 16 in 1885) and Robert Schollum (Nos. 4, 8 and 9). More recently, Iván Fischer has orchestrated the complete set.

The first ten dances were arranged for solo piano by Brahms himself. The remaining dances (Nos. 11-21) were arranged for solo piano by Theodor Kirchner. Nos. 11-16 are also arranged for simplified piano by Robert Keller.

The Hungarian Dances have also been arranged for violin and piano, most notably by Paul Klengel (Nos. 1-3, 5-8, 13, 17, 19-21) and Fritz Kreisler (No. 17).

Hungarian Dance No. 4 in F♯ minor was used by composer John Morris as the main theme in his score for Mel Brooks' comedy film The Twelve Chairs (1970), set in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. This included both the film's instrumental score and a song, Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst, with lyrics by Mel Brooks, all based on the Johannes Brahms composition.

Recordings

The earliest known recording of any movement of Hungarian Dances was a condensed piano-based rendition of Hungarian Dance No. 1, from 1889, played by Brahms himself, and was known to have been recorded by Theo Wangemann, an assistant to Thomas Edison. The following dialogue can be heard in the recording itself, before the music starts:

• Theo Wangemann: "Dezember 1889."

• Johannes Brahms: "Im Haus von Herrn Doktor Fellinger bei Herrn Doktor Brahms, Johannes Brahms." (English: "In the house of Dr. Fellinger with Dr. Brahms, Johannes Brahms.")

Joseph Joachim, a close friend of Brahms, in collaboration with an unnamed accompanying pianist, recorded their own renditions of Hungarian Dances Nos. 1 and 2.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Dances_(Brahms) / License: CC BY-SA 4.0