Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, in three recordings
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S. 244/2 — shared opening
One piano recording and two orchestral ones, from 1919, 1936 and 1945, play the rhapsody’s opening.
Recordings in
this comparison
Choose a recording and press Play. Selecting another card continues playback from the matching point in that recording.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninoff plays Liszt’s solo original for Edison, in his first year of gramophone recording.
Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski (arr. Müller-Berghaus)
The Philadelphia Orchestra plays Karl Müller-Berghaus’s orchestration.
Walter Goehr, National Symphony Orchestra of London
National Symphony Orchestra of London, Walter Goehr
Goehr conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of London at Kingsway Hall in 1945.
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Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.
Liszt opens with accented chords, pauses and quick flourishes. Rachmaninoff plays the piano original; Stokowski’s Philadelphia players use Karl Müller-Berghaus’s orchestration. Goehr adds a London performance from Kingsway Hall. In all three recordings this opening begins the first disc side.
Tempo map
Time taken compared with Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1919: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.
- Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1919 · reference
- Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1936
- Walter Goehr, National Symphony Orchestra of London, 1945
Passages compared
Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.
- 01
Opening with accented chords
0:08 in the referenceAccented chords punctuate a winding line; short flourishes run between the broad notes.
- 02
Slow melody over repeated bass
0:32 in the referenceThe slow melody is played above a repeated bass figure, with short turns placed between its longer notes.
- 03
Melody in chords
0:48 in the referenceThe melody is filled out in chords, while the bass keeps its heavy tread.
Length of each recording
- Sergei Rachmaninoff, 19194:09
- Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 19364:10
- Walter Goehr, National Symphony Orchestra of London, 19454:55
These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.
Recording notes
Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1919
Rachmaninoff plays Liszt’s solo original for Edison, in his first year of gramophone recording.
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
1919
Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1936
The Philadelphia Orchestra plays Karl Müller-Berghaus’s orchestration.
Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski (arr. Müller-Berghaus)
1936
Walter Goehr, National Symphony Orchestra of London, 1945
Goehr conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of London at Kingsway Hall in 1945.
National Symphony Orchestra of London, Walter Goehr
1945
Further reading
- Rachmaninoff — Edison 82169-R, part I
- Stokowski — 1936 recording, July 1937 release
- Goehr — Kingsway Hall, 1945, first side; the source does not identify an arranger
- Liszt — piano score, edited by Homer N. Bartlett: opening call and Lassan, first page
- Rachmaninoff Performance Diary — first Edison sessions and ten released recordings
How the recordings are matched
The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.
- Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1936: match score 0.929. Matched passages available.
- Walter Goehr, National Symphony Orchestra of London, 1945: match score 0.788. Check the matched passages by ear before using these timings.
Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.