Full Album available // Brahms: 16 Hungarian Dances, Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Antal Doráti
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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) 4 Hungarian Dances
00:00 Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor, Book I, WoO 1 (Orchestra): Allegro molto (Orch. Brahms)
02:36 Hungarian Dance No. 2 in D minor, Book I, WoO 1 (Orchestra): Allegro non assai (Orch. Hallén)
05:20 Hungarian Dance No. 4 in F-sharp minor, Book I, WoO 1 (Orchestra): Poco sostenuto (Orch. Hallén)
09:49 Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor, Book I, WoO 1 (Orchestra): Allegro (Orch. Schmeling)

London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Antal Doráti
Recorded in 1957-65, at London
New mastering in 2024 by AB for CMRR

Brahms's forays into the "popular" realm with pieces such as the Hungarian Dances, the Waltzes, Op. 39, the Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103, the Love Song Waltzes, Op. 52, and numerous arrangements of German folk songs surprised and delighted his admirers, who initially struggled to reconcile quartets, sonatas, symphonies, and other "absolute" music with the lively melodies of the street, café, and countryside. More than any of his other compositions, the Hungarian Dances brought Brahms worldwide renown. Serving as worthy precursors to Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Hungarian Dances have survived the years to emerge fresh and captivating in interpretations as fiery as those conducted by Antal Dorati, himself born in Hungary. For this recording, Maestro Dorati selected sixteen of the most popular dances.

The composition of these delightful works evolved in decidedly strange circumstances. In hindsight, almost no one has anything good to say about Brahms's rather peculiar companion in his twentieth year, the flamboyant Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi, selfish, capricious, and not openly sincere. It was with Reményi that Brahms ventured beyond his hometown of Hamburg for the first time during the ill-fated concert tour of 1853, which began in April and ended in June with a quarrel.

Yet, regardless of Reményi's character flaws, and even if he was an ill-suited collaborator for the shy, honest Brahms, more than "ingeniously inexperienced," posterity owes him a certain debt. Not only did he introduce Brahms to Joachim, but it was this tour, taking Reményi and his accompanist through small villages and "country roads," that provided Brahms with the opportunity to hear for the first time the Hungarian airs and folk music of the gypsies, bearing rich fruit in the years to come.

One can be assured that even without Reményi's presence, Brahms - like Liszt, Joachim, and others of his time - would have discovered this music on his own. The tour with the Hungarian violinist likely accelerated the process by which the young North German composer absorbed the exotic rhythms and colors of a music not truly indigenous to his own culture.

The first collection of the Hungarian Dances, divided into two books, was published in 1869, shortly after the initial performances of the German Requiem (in 1868) had given a strong initial boost to Brahms's reputation as a composer. Thereafter, his renown continued to grow rapidly and steadily. The Dances enjoyed immediate success and, along with the Love Song Waltzes, published the same year, they ensured Brahms, at thirty-six, a popularity that would never wane thereafter. The quick response to the Dances was undoubtedly encouraged by Clara Schumann, who performed some of them in recital even before their publication.

A second collection (also in two books) was published in 1880. In the meantime, arrangements of every conceivable variety had come into being. Brahms himself frequently played some of the Dances in a version for solo piano, and in 1874, he orchestrated numbers 1, 3, and 10. The other orchestrations heard on this recording are those of Dvorák - numbers 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, Andreas Hallén - numbers 2, 4, 7, and Albert Parlow - numbers 5, 6, 11, 12, 15. Joachim and Hubay translated them for violin and piano; they have since been published for two pianos, eight hands. The existence of so many reincarnations is the greatest possible compliment to these Gypsy children, so effectively "raised" by Brahms.

Johannes Brahms PLAYLIST (reference recordings):    • Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)