Magyar Moves

One of my early posts on here concerned Dvorak's Slavonic Dances and now here is what preceded and inspired those, Brahms's Hungarian Dances Nos 1 - 21 played by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra under Istvan Bogar. Whereas Dvorak composed his own original materisl using folk influences, Brahms took many exisiting gypsy tunes for his arrangements with only three of his dances being original compositions. Obviously light hearted easy listening music produced for a fledgling mass market, the pieces retain their popularity and have a certain period charm without being ain any way vital contributions to Brahms's art. Not a de luxe performance by the Budapest band but they know the material inside out and it is perfectly acceptable on a budget label.