Erzsébet

Meggondolatlan Õrült Iramban Csárdás was written in 1989 as an early sketch for Erzsébet. In pursuit of the ghost of a Hungarian dance, a prepared piano evokes the cimbalom (a large Hungarian hammerdulcimer) before it becomes, open and unmodified, a puppet of the rhythmic Magyar friss dance.

The Csárdás mixes minor, diminished and whole-tone harmonies, while its rhythms relentlessly respect the accented 19th-century two-step.

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Last Measures of the Score

The last three measures of the score.

Click here to play the Csárdás in RealAudio, or download it.

Click here to play the Csárdás in MP3, or download it.

A recording of Csárdás is available from Ursa Minor Records, on the "Alive and Well" cassette.