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LOPARITS, ELIZABETH, D.M.A. Hungarian Gypsy Style in the Lisztian Spirit: Georges Cziffra’s Two Transcriptions of Brahms’ Fifth Hungarian Dance. (2008) Directed by Dr. George Kiorpes. 129 pp. Georges (György) Cziffra (1921 1994), the piano virtuoso of Hungarian gypsy
origin, developed bewildering skills of improvisation and technical brilliance at the
piano. His deep fascination with Franz Liszt’s music influenced his playing style and
musical spirit, and his critics, highly speaking of his Romantic pianism and especially
emphasizing his virtuosity, often held him as one of the most outstanding Liszt
performers of our age. Cziffra’s love for Hungarian themes moved him to perform and
record numerous improvisations based on Magyar melodies. Later in his life he preserved
many of his own extemporized adaptations in notation, including his transcriptions of
fifteen of the Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms.
The focus of the paper is on Georges Cziffra’s two piano transcriptions (1957 and
1982 83) of Brahms’ Fifth Hungarian Dance (1868). The examination and analysis of
these two versions in comparison with the original Hungarian sources and Brahms’ own
arrangement reveal Cziffra’s style as a virtuoso improviser and transcriber. Examples
from Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies serve to identify the Lisztian features in Cziffra’s
transcriptions. The characteristic elements of the Hungarian gypsy musicians’
improvisatory style, which influenced and inspired both Liszt and Brahms, as well as
Cziffra, receive particular attention.
Chapter 2 offers a brief history of the Hungarian gypsy musicians, depicts their
life and social status in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, examines the most
characteristic elements of their performance technique, and portrays their musical stylistic influence on Hungarian music, the stylistic conglomeration of which became the foundation for the renowned style hongrois . Chapter 3 examines the acquaintance of
Liszt and Brahms with Hungarian music in the gypsy style and reviews basic information
about Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies and Brahms’ Hungarian Dances . Chapter 4 offers biographical information about György Cziffra and investigates his association with the
music of Liszt, Brahms, and the Hungarian gypsy musicians. Cziffra’s musical and
transcribing style and a general discussion of his Transcriptions: Grandes Etudes de
Concert I (Frankfurt: Peters, 1995) are also included here. Chapter 5 consists of information about the sources of the popular themes that Brahms used for the Hungarian
Dances . Then the focus of this chapter is on the evolution of the Fifth Hungarian Dance from its sources through Brahms to the transcriptions of Cziffra, including the examination of Cziffra’s 1957 transcription in comparison to the 1982 83 version.
Selected examples of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies are provided to support the identification of Lisztian features in Cziffra’s work. The detection of the characteristic elements of the Hungarian gypsies’ improvisatory style will receive particular attention. HUNGARIAN GYPSY STYLE IN THE LISZTIAN SPIRIT: GEORGES CZIFFRA’S TWO TRANSCRIPTIONS OF BRAHMS’ FIFTH HUNGARIAN DANCE by Elizabeth Loparits A Dissertation Submitted to The Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts Greensboro 2008 Approved by Dr. George Kiorpes ______ Committee Chair APPROVAL PAGE