Hungarian Dances (Brahms)

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).

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.

Hungarian Dances have also been arranged for violin and piano, most notably by Paul Klengel (Nos.

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.

The Boston Pops Orchestra with conductor Arthur Fiedler recorded Hungarian Dances Nos.

Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky recorded them in 1976 for Deutsche Grammophon, released originally on LP catalog number 2530 710.

The French sister duo-pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque recorded the complete set of dances for Philips in 1981, as catalog number 4164592.

17, 19 and 21 were recorded in 1966 by the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra for their album Orchestral Fireworks, released in the UK on the Music For Pleasure label.

They were again recorded by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt conducting the NDR Radio Symphony Hamburg in 1967 and released in the USA on Vanguard.

The first digital by Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon was recorded in 1982, released on LP as 410 615-1 and on CD as 410 615-2.

(Citation: https://www.discogs.com/release/11730199-Brahms-NDR-Symphony-Orchestra-Of-Hamburg-Hans-Schmidt-Isserstedt-Hungarian-Dances-Complete) They were again recorded digitally by István Bogár [hu] and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra for Naxos in 1988, released on CD as 8.550110.

Their review called this recording "sheer delight from beginning to end... an outright winner among the available versions.