10080 –Ruralia Hungarica

Erno Dohnanyi (1877-1960)

arranged by Roger Harvey

Difficulty: Hard

Price: £27.50

Programme note:
Erno Dohnanyi was born in Pressburg, now Bratislava. His first musical studies were with his father, a mathematics professor. He then enrolled at the Budapest Academy of music where one of his contemporaries was Bartok. He was a virtuoso pianist and also conducted and composed. His first published work was a piano quintet which impressed Brahms. As a pianist he travelled widely in Europe and the USA to great acclaim. As a conductor he did much to promote the music of Bartok. He was in great demand as a teacher and was also a prolific concert promoter. After the 2nd World War he was forced to leave communist Hungary and went to live in USA where he continued to compose and teach.
His music shows some folk influences but it is mainly rooted in the Romantic style of Brahms.
Ruralia Hungarica was originally a set of folk pictures for solo piano, 5 of which were subsequently orchestrated.
This set consists of 2 very vigorous dances and, in between a charming, gentler piece.

Performance note:

1st trumpet will require an E flat or piccolo trumpet.

1. This needs to be played with great energy but in doing so, ensure that the parts are well balanced and the style does not become frantic. Err on the side of leggiero rather than marcato in general.

2. This piece should be played as if having a conversation, pass the the phrases around and feel free to adopt considerable rubato. Relax the tempo into each pause but always set off agin with renewed energy - as if stopping to think and then getting a new idea.

3. This should be a lively tempo but be careful not to set off quicker than can be sustained in the more technical passages. Make sure the triplet figures are the main line e.g. at the beginning, the top 2 trumpets should be lighter than 3rd and 4th.
The tempo should increase from figure 9 so plan for this. Also make sure it does not get too quick too soon.