Liszt - Fantaisie sur l’opéra hongroise Szép Ilonka, S417 (Buccio)

Liszt’s passionate desire for a Hungarian musical culture to be proudly exported is a refrain throughout his correspondence, and his support for Hungarian musical education and many Hungarian composers is legion. He was delighted when Mihály Mosonyi (born Michael Brand, 1815-1870) produced the first of his works specifically entitled ‘Hungarian Opera’, and this colourful piece on themes from Szép Ilonka (‘Pretty Helen’) is the resultant tribute to a composer whose neglect outside Hungary has nevertheless en