The idea of arranging dances based on Hungarian gypsy themes probably came after Brahms heard his friend Joseph Joachim’s Violin Concerto, “in the Hungarian style”, published in 1861 and dedicated to Brahms. Though this was a style Brahms already knew well from his earliest concert tours as a pianist with the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi in the early 1850s. Although later arranged for various combinations of instruments (including full orchestra), Brahms originally wrote these short pieces for piano four hands. The first two books (Nos.1–10) were finished in Autumn 1868, and the third and fourth books (Nos.11–21) in March 1880. The first performances were all given at private concerts, first in Oldenburg on 1 November 1868 (Nos.1–10) and then in the Bonn suburb of Mehlem on 3 May 1880 (Nos.11–21). On both occasions the players were the dream-worthy piano duet partnership of Clara Schumann and Brahms himself. 

Nigel Simeone © 2012