Hungarian Fantasy (Liszt) Hungarian Fantasy (Liszt) The Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Melodies (German: "Fantasie über ungarische Volksmelodien", Hungarian: "Fantázia magyar népi dallamokkal"), commonly known in short form simply as the Hungarian Fantasy, is Franz Liszt's arrangement for piano and orchestra of his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14, originally for solo piano. 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. During Liszt's lifetime, his Hungarian Rhapsodies were among his most popular works. Because of this popularity, he may have been under pressure to produce versions of them
Rhapsodies for Orchestra quirky rhythmic vitality. Van Zweden and the CSO brought the 10-minute piece to life most enjoyably." Katie Womack of the "Dallas Observer" similarly praised the piece at its Dallas premiere, commenting, "The dynamics of this piece range from intimate to bombastic and the juxtaposition of those extremes created some stunning sounds in the Meyerson. At only ten minutes, Stucky's "Rhapsodies" left me wanting more." Anthony Tommasini of "The New York Times" also lauded the work, remarking: Jeffrey Gantz of "The Boston Globe" was more critical, describing the piece as "a series of ecstatic outbursts in which one instrument essays an