Late works of Franz Liszt to Saint-Saëns. The three czárdás that Liszt wrote—titled "Czárdás", "Czárdás obstinée" and "Czárdás macabre"—are less freely treated than the Hungarian Rhapsodies and remain more specifically Hungarian than gypsy in thematic material. Their spare lines, angular rhythms and advanced harmonies show these pieces to be direct ancestors of Bartók's work. Because of these attributes, the czárdás are considered by Liszt scholars among the more interesting of the composer's late output. The same, some critics argue, cannot be said as uniformly about his Hungarian Rhapsodies 16-19, composed after he had neglected the genre 30 years. Of these four late rhapsodies, only the
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel) his arrangement, and even recorded it with Charles Munch leading the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. American composer Stephen Sondheim wrote a senior paper in college on the piece. The piece is featured prominently in "Morale Victory," an episode from the 8th season of the long-running American television series "M*A*S*H". Major Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) uses it and Wittgenstein's story to convince a drafted concert pianist (James Stephens), whose right hand has been permanently injured in combat, not to give up his musical gift despite his wounds. Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel) The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand