Ràcoczy-Marsch

The Rácóczi-March was one oft he most popular marches of the nineteenth century. It has survived in countless arrangements by composers both well-known and forgotten today. In spring 1864 Brahms was apparently asked by his publisher, Rieter-Biedermann, to provide a set of variations on the Rácóczi-March. His reply was reserved.

The name Rácóczi dates from the first Hungrian uprising against the Habsburgs from 1703 to 1711, which was led by Ferenc, Prince Rácóczi II. A possible reason for Brahms’s circumspection is that having removed to Vienna the preceding year, he may well have considered this march, of all pieces, highly unsuitable for establishing contacts in the capital of Austria.

Brahms’s arrangement of the Rácóczi-March for “single piano” derives from the musical estate of Clara Schumann; the undated autograph is written in Brahms’s early handwriting. Full editorial details on the present first publication can be found in the critical annotation.