Noctave
The piece
The Hungarian Rhapsodies draw on the tunes played by Roma bands in Hungary, in a free form made of contrasting episodes. The sixth strings four together: a proud Tempo giusto in D-flat major, a skipping Presto in C-sharp major, an Andante in B-flat minor that moves as freely as an improvisation, and an Allegro in B-flat major that ends in a whirl. Two notes of the transcription were corrected during proofreading.
The closing Allegro is an octave study for the right hand: 913 octave attacks, fast and light. It needs a bouncing wrist, a relaxed forearm, and frequent breaks while practising to avoid tension. The left hand has plenty to do as well, with wide chords: 72 exceed the octave, up to 16 semitones. In the Andante the difficulty changes in kind: the a piacere passages call for rhythmic freedom, and the runs marked veloce for precise reading before any speeding up. The piece spans almost the whole keyboard, reaching from a deep C-sharp up to a high G, and its 367 repeated notes are played with alternating fingers.