Ungarische Zigeunerweisen
Encyclopedia
Ungarische Zigeunerweisen (Konzert im ungarischen Styl) [Hungarian Gypsy Melodies (Concerto in the Hungarian Style)] is a single-movement work for piano and orchestra of about 17 minutes' duration by Sophie Menter
(a renowned pianist in her day, Franz Liszt
's favourite female student, and a composer of salon trifles). The work was written in 1885 (with possible help from Liszt), was orchestrated by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
in 1892, and first performed by Menter (with Tchaikovsky conducting) in 1893.
The work is listed in Liszt's catalogue as S.714 (recently renumbered as S.126a) on account of his possible involvement. It is not known whether Tchaikovsky played any part in the actual composition, but towards the coda there is a harmonic sequence very familiar from Tchaikovsky's concertos.
. Tchaikovsky conducted Menter in the premiere of the work in Odessa
on . However the publication of that score was not seen through the press by Tchaikovsky (who died ten months later), and the published score and parts require a good deal of common-sense correction.
What Tchaikovsky worked from has not been preserved, but it seems to have been some kind of short score. The uncertainty is whether Sophie Menter composed the work, or whether Liszt did, or whether Menter took something to Liszt which he then got into shape for her (in the period of exactly two days in which he is known to have worked at Menter's castle in 1885). August Göllerich mentions the work in his diary and suggests that Liszt would have had trouble completing it (failing eyesight and poor health being likely primary reasons; not wishing to write a virtuoso piece in a style which he had long abandoned no doubt being another). Liszt's letter to Menter dated 3 August 1885 tells her that the "Sophie Menter Concerto" is begun and that he would complete it at Schloss Itter. At this remove it cannot be established whether the work (referred to as a Concerto in the Hungarian Style) is the present piece, but it seems very likely.
. But when one considers that Tchaikovsky had orchestrated Liszt's song Der König in Thule in 1874; and the year after Liszt's death he chose to orchestrate Liszt's version of Mozart
's Ave verum corpus
(as part of his Orchestral Suite No. 4, "Mozartiana", 1887), although he could just as easily have used Mozart's original, it is clear that his dislike of Liszt was not all-encompassing. His reference to Liszt in his diary as "the old Jesuit" is positively friendly compared to the vituperation he reserved for many of his other contemporaries. (For example, he referred to Brahms
as "a giftless bastard" ... "full of pretensions but without any real depths", ... "detestable... so pitiful and insignificant." And of Wagner
, he wrote: "Before, music strove to delight people; now they are tormented and exhausted.")
While this theory is considered exceedingly unlikely by some, it is not so considered by Janina Fialkowska
, the pianist who premiered Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 3
in 1990. She says she was told by Roch Serra (who was told by the Liszt scholar Professor Milstein, who was told by Vera Timanova
, who was told by Sophie Menter herself), that Liszt was indeed the composer of the piece, but he did not want Tchaikovsky to be aware of this.
. The work begins with a theme from the orchestra (which does not return), and a piano cadenza imitating the cimbalom. This leads to an Andante - a soulful theme expounded in arpeggiated chords. There follows an Allegro variation and another cadenza, leading to a new theme marked Allegretto given first by the piano and then joined boisterously by the orchestra. The Andante theme is recalled in the ensuing cadenza, and a new theme is presented in the following slow Andante (really an Adagio). A further reminiscence of the Andante leads to a variation on the Allegretto, with the piano playing in constant demisemiquaver octaves. Another short cadenza introduces a new theme in the horns, but it is short-lived, and the coda very soon comes, generated from a faster version of the Andante.
Sophie Menter
Sophie Menter was a German pianist and composer who became the favorite female student of Franz Liszt. She was called l'incarnation de Liszt in Paris because of her robust, electrifying playing style and was considered one of the greatest piano virtuosos of her time.Sophie Menter was born in...
(a renowned pianist in her day, Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's favourite female student, and a composer of salon trifles). The work was written in 1885 (with possible help from Liszt), was orchestrated by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
in 1892, and first performed by Menter (with Tchaikovsky conducting) in 1893.
The work is listed in Liszt's catalogue as S.714 (recently renumbered as S.126a) on account of his possible involvement. It is not known whether Tchaikovsky played any part in the actual composition, but towards the coda there is a harmonic sequence very familiar from Tchaikovsky's concertos.
History
The history of the work is clouded with uncertainties. What is known is that Tchaikovsky, while staying with Menter in Austria [from to ] at Menter's request prepared a score for piano and orchestra from material which she provided. The score was signed by Tchaikovsky on at Menter's castle Itter CastleItter Castle
Itter Castle is a small castle standing on a high knoll in Itter, a village in North Tyrol , 20 km west of Kitzbühel.The castle was used from 1943–45, during the Nazi occupation of France, to incarcerate prominent French prisoners...
. Tchaikovsky conducted Menter in the premiere of the work in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
on . However the publication of that score was not seen through the press by Tchaikovsky (who died ten months later), and the published score and parts require a good deal of common-sense correction.
What Tchaikovsky worked from has not been preserved, but it seems to have been some kind of short score. The uncertainty is whether Sophie Menter composed the work, or whether Liszt did, or whether Menter took something to Liszt which he then got into shape for her (in the period of exactly two days in which he is known to have worked at Menter's castle in 1885). August Göllerich mentions the work in his diary and suggests that Liszt would have had trouble completing it (failing eyesight and poor health being likely primary reasons; not wishing to write a virtuoso piece in a style which he had long abandoned no doubt being another). Liszt's letter to Menter dated 3 August 1885 tells her that the "Sophie Menter Concerto" is begun and that he would complete it at Schloss Itter. At this remove it cannot be established whether the work (referred to as a Concerto in the Hungarian Style) is the present piece, but it seems very likely.
Unlikely theory
One theory that has been advanced is that Liszt instructed Menter to take the piece to her friend Tchaikovsky for orchestration, but not to mention his (Liszt's) name so that Liszt's composership of the work could be hidden from Tchaikovsky (who did not especially admire Liszt). Tchaikovsky once wrote "[Liszt's] music leaves me completely cold", and he was not pleased with Liszt's piano transcription of his Polonaise from the opera Eugene OneginEugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
. But when one considers that Tchaikovsky had orchestrated Liszt's song Der König in Thule in 1874; and the year after Liszt's death he chose to orchestrate Liszt's version of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Ave verum corpus
Ave verum Corpus
Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Popes Innocent III, Innocent IV and Innocent VI....
(as part of his Orchestral Suite No. 4, "Mozartiana", 1887), although he could just as easily have used Mozart's original, it is clear that his dislike of Liszt was not all-encompassing. His reference to Liszt in his diary as "the old Jesuit" is positively friendly compared to the vituperation he reserved for many of his other contemporaries. (For example, he referred to Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
as "a giftless bastard" ... "full of pretensions but without any real depths", ... "detestable... so pitiful and insignificant." And of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, he wrote: "Before, music strove to delight people; now they are tormented and exhausted.")
While this theory is considered exceedingly unlikely by some, it is not so considered by Janina Fialkowska
Janina Fialkowska
Janina Fialkowska, OC is a Canadian-American classical pianist.- Early life :Fialkowska was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a Canadian mother and a Polish father , an engineer and Polish army officer who emigrated to Canada in 1945...
, the pianist who premiered Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 3
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Liszt)
Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major Op. posth. , was possibly composed in 1839. It is said that this piece was composed before the first two concertos, but the date is inconclusive as there are claims it was not finished until 1847. Like his second piano concerto, it is a...
in 1990. She says she was told by Roch Serra (who was told by the Liszt scholar Professor Milstein, who was told by Vera Timanova
Vera Timanova
Vera Viktorovna Timanova was a Russian pianist.Vera Timanova was born into a well-to-do family in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, where she spent her childhood. She showed musical aptitude at an early age, and at age six began taking piano instruction from local teachers, with her first public...
, who was told by Sophie Menter herself), that Liszt was indeed the composer of the piece, but he did not want Tchaikovsky to be aware of this.
Substance
The musical substance of the piece is not particularly Lisztian. Its overt "virtuoso" style is one which Liszt had abandoned decades previously. Further, the piano part overuses certain unsubtle effects which do not bear comparison with Liszt's piano writing ostensibly in a similar vein. But if Menter really collected the themes, (which are unknown in Liszt's works - although they are similar in style to melodies found in some of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies or the Ungarischer Romanzero) and if Liszt helped to arrange the short score, then his possible collaboration may be conceded.Structure
The structure of the work is straightforward, and is clearly inspired by Liszt's Hungarian FantasyHungarian Fantasy (Liszt)
The Hungarian Fantasy for piano and orchestra is an arrangement of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14 written by Franz Liszt in 1852...
. The work begins with a theme from the orchestra (which does not return), and a piano cadenza imitating the cimbalom. This leads to an Andante - a soulful theme expounded in arpeggiated chords. There follows an Allegro variation and another cadenza, leading to a new theme marked Allegretto given first by the piano and then joined boisterously by the orchestra. The Andante theme is recalled in the ensuing cadenza, and a new theme is presented in the following slow Andante (really an Adagio). A further reminiscence of the Andante leads to a variation on the Allegretto, with the piano playing in constant demisemiquaver octaves. Another short cadenza introduces a new theme in the horns, but it is short-lived, and the coda very soon comes, generated from a faster version of the Andante.
Place in the repertoire
The piece is effective without laying claim to any special importance, but - considering the probable assistance of Liszt and the certain participation of Tchaikovsky - is an interesting footnote among the works for piano and orchestra of the time.Recordings
- Cyprien KatsarisCyprien KatsarisCyprien Katsaris is a French-Cypriot pianist, teacher and composer. He was born on 5 May 1951, in Marseilles, France.-Biography:Katsaris first began to play the piano when he was four, in Cameroon where he grew up...
recorded the work with Eugene OrmandyEugene OrmandyEugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
in 1981. - Leslie HowardLeslie Howard (musician)Leslie Howard AM is an Australian pianist and composer. He is best known for being the only pianist to have recorded the complete solo piano works of Franz Liszt, a project which included more than 300 premiere recordings...
recorded the work with Karl Anton RickenbacherKarl Anton RickenbacherKarl Anton Rickenbacher is a Swiss conductor.Rickenbacher studied at the Berlin Conservatory with Herbert von Karajan. He took part in master classes with Pierre Boulez. He was an assistant conductor at the Zürich Opera from 1966 to 1969. He served as first Kapellmeister of the Stadt Buhnen...
in 1998.