The Fantasia was written in 1852 and premiered in Pest on June 1, 1853, with Hans von Bülow as soloist and Ferenc Erkel conducting the orchestra.
A slow introduction by the orchestra is followed by a solo cadenza before proceeding to the main body of the work.
[3] The bold, marchlike main theme of the work, as in the version for solo piano, is the Hungarian folk song "Mohac's Field",[2] with a long-short-short-long rhythm.
While much of the piece's thematic material is derived from this song, there is also a section in A minor marked "in gypsy style" (alla zingarese).
The Rhapsodies generally present a clear succession of two traditional scales — lassan, and friska.