Hungarian Dance no. 4 WoO 1

“What one has so long and so boisterously merely played, is awkward to write down.” With this charming self-irony, Johannes Brahms described the lively origins of his Hungarian Dances, whose rousing rhythms and fiery melodies continue to captivate to this day. Brahms’s friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim, made a congenial arrangement for violin and piano which combines consummate virtuosity with the magic of chamber music. The Hungarian Dance no. 4 fascinates with the contrast between the elegiac melody of its main theme and the folkloristic-inspired virtuoso interludes. Joachim transferred both to his instrument in true “devil violinist” style. This dance, internationally acclaimed as a concert piece in its own right, is now available as a single edition.