Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, S. 244: Lento a capriccio, Lassan: Andante mesto, Friska: Vivace, Tempo giusto, Vivace, Prestissimo

12.

Franz Liszt / Georges Cziffra - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, S. 244: Lento a capriccio, Lassan: Andante mesto, Friska: Vivace, Tempo giusto, Vivace, Prestissimo

Liszt built his Second Rhapsody out of verbunkos and csárdás—Romani café. It’s two breaths; a slow lassan, then the friska that keeps speeding up. For Cziffra’s take, Roma born in 1921 Budapest, playing circuses at five, wrists wrecked by a labor camp. He plays it faster than the page asks, the way Liszt must have wished.

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