Franz Lehár's Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45: An Early Virtuosic Showcase

I. Introduction: Lehár's Early Virtuosic Flair

Franz Lehár's Ungarische Fantasie (Hungarian Fantasy), Op. 45, also known by its evocative Hungarian title Magyar ábránd, stands as a captivating and virtuosic work conceived for solo violin accompanied by orchestra. Composed relatively early in his career, long before the operetta triumphs that would secure his international fame, this Fantasie offers a fascinating glimpse into the composer's considerable skill in instrumental writing. It occupies a distinct place within Lehár's oeuvre, showcasing a flair for brilliant soloistic display and an engagement with Hungarian musical idioms that differ markedly from the sophisticated blend of waltz, romance, and comedy found in his celebrated stage works like Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow).

The period during which Op. 45 emerged saw Lehár primarily active as a military bandmaster, a role inherited from his father, and as a composer of the functional music associated with that milieu: marches, waltzes, and dances. He also produced arrangements and potpourris for military band. However, his ambitions clearly extended beyond this sphere, as evidenced by early attempts at opera, such as Kukuschka (premiered 1896), and instrumental concert pieces like the Ungarische Fantasie. This work, therefore, reveals a different facet of his compositional personality – one focused on instrumental brilliance and the exploration of national musical styles. Its enduring interest lies not only in its demonstration of these abilities but also in its connection to the style hongrois and the intriguing historical puzzle surrounding its correct attribution.

II. The Composer: Franz Lehár Jr. and the Attribution Question

A. Franz Lehár (Jr.) - Relevant Background

The composer of the Ungarische Fantasie is Franz Lehár, commonly referred to as Franz Lehár Jr. to distinguish him from his father, born April 30, 1870, in Komárom, Kingdom of Hungary (then part of Austria-Hungary), and died October 24, 1948, in Bad Ischl, Austria. His father, Franz Lehár Sr. (1838–1898), was an Austrian bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian Army, while his mother, Christine Neubrandt (1849–1906), was Hungarian. This mixed heritage deeply influenced the younger Lehár; he grew up speaking Hungarian and strongly identified with his Hungarian roots, a connection reflected in the title and style of Op. 45. This contrasts with his father, who hailed from the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Moravia and reportedly spoke little Hungarian.

Crucially for the context of a violin fantasy, Franz Lehár Jr. was trained as a violinist. He entered the Prague Conservatory at the age of 12, studying violin with Antonín Bennewitz and theory, receiving compositional encouragement from no less than Antonín Dvořák. After graduating in 1888, he worked briefly as a theatre violinist before commencing his military service, initially playing in his father's band and eventually becoming a military bandmaster himself in 1890. This background as a skilled violinist makes his authorship of a virtuosic work for the instrument entirely plausible. His father, in contrast, was primarily known as a horn player and bandmaster.

B. The Attribution Controversy

Despite the strong circumstantial evidence pointing towards Franz Lehár Jr., the attribution of Op. 45 was historically muddled. Confusion arose primarily from entries in the authoritative German music catalogue, Hofmeister's Handbuch der Musikalischen Literatur. The supplement covering publications up to 1897 (published 1900) listed the Hofbauer edition of Op. 45 under Franz Lehár Sr. However, a later supplement covering publications up to 1904 (published 1906) listed the Schmidl edition under Franz Lehár Jr.

Detailed examination, particularly discussions among musicologists and researchers, has strongly refuted the attribution to Lehár Sr. Several key arguments favour Franz Lehár Jr.:

• Instrumentation and Style: As a violinist with deep Hungarian roots, Lehár Jr. was far more likely than his horn-playing father to compose a Hungarian Fantasy for Violin. The work's style aligns with Jr.'s known interests and capabilities.
• Cataloguing Errors: Analysis of the Hofmeister catalogues reveals inconsistencies. The Verzeichnis der 1897 erschienenen Musikalien (Directory of Musical Works Published in 1897) listed several works under "Lehar" (without Sr. or Jr. designation), including Op. 45. Other works in this group are definitively known to be by Lehár Jr. (e.g., pieces from his opera Kukuschka). The 1900 Handbuch appears to have erroneously assigned all works lacking the "Jr." designation to Lehár Sr., a simplistic but flawed assumption given the evidence. By the 1906 Handbuch, the distinction seems to have been better understood, with Op. 45 (via the Schmidl edition) correctly attributed to Jr.
• Lehár Sr.'s Output: Franz Lehár Sr. is remembered almost exclusively as a military bandmaster and composer of marches. While competent, his compositional profile does not readily suggest a work like the Ungarische Fantasie.
• Later Editions: A new edition of Op. 45 appeared in 1935 under the name of the by-then world-famous Franz Lehár (Jr.). It is highly improbable that Lehár, who was protective of his works and reputation (even establishing his own publishing house, Glocken-Verlag, around this time), would have allowed his name to be attached to a work by his father without protest.

The confusion in early catalogues likely stemmed from a confluence of factors typical of the era's publishing landscape. In 1897, Lehár Jr. was a young composer still making his name, primarily known within military music circles, whereas his father had a longer, albeit regionally focused, reputation as a bandmaster. Faced with ambiguous publisher submissions simply marked "Lehar," cataloguers compiling vast indices like Hofmeister's Handbuch might have defaulted to the more established name or made assumptions based on incomplete information. The subsequent correction and consistent attribution to Lehár Jr. in later editions (like Schmidl's 1908 publication) coincided with his meteoric rise to international fame following Die lustige Witwe (1905), which naturally clarified his distinct compositional identity. This case highlights the importance of critically examining historical catalogue data, considering the composer's known activities, skills, and the evolving context of their career and the publishing industry. Today, the Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45, is confidently attributed to Franz Lehár Jr.

III. Genesis and Publication: Dating the Fantasie

A. First Publication (1897)

The definitive date for the first publication of the Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45, is 1897. The work was issued by the publisher Hofbauer in Leipzig. Corroborating this are entries in Hofmeister's Monatsbericht (Monthly Report) for 1897, which list the work's appearance.

Significantly, Hofbauer released the piece simultaneously in two formats: the original version for violin and orchestra (listed on page 45 of the 1897 Monatsbericht) and an arrangement for violin and piano (listed on page 49). This concurrent publication strategy was common for concertante works in the late 19th century. It suggests a clear intention from the outset to maximize the work's reach and performance potential. The orchestral version catered to concert settings, while the piano reduction made the piece accessible for students, amateurs, salon performances, and broader commercial sale. This dual approach indicates that both composer and publisher saw the Fantasie as having appeal across different segments of the musical market, aiming for wide dissemination rather than confining it to a purely orchestral niche.

B. Later Editions and Arrangements (Post-1897)

While first published in 1897, a particularly influential later edition was the violin and piano arrangement issued in 1908 by C. Schmidl in Trieste. This version, bearing the plate numbers C. Sch. 3539.3540. Cº, was edited by the Italian violinist and composer Pier Adolfo Tirindelli (1858-1937). Tirindelli's involvement lent credibility to the edition, and its subsequent reprinting around 1911 by the major Viennese publisher Universal Edition (as UE 1843) further cemented its circulation.

Tirindelli also arranged the work for flute and piano, published by Schmidl under the plate number M.7 (date unspecified), demonstrating the piece's melodic appeal transcended its original violin conception.

The date 1935 appears in some sources in connection with Op. 45. However, given the established 1897 first publication, 1935 almost certainly refers to a re-edition or perhaps a revision of the work, not its genesis. This date coincides with the period when Lehár founded his own publishing house, Glocken-Verlag, to consolidate control over his catalogue. Reissuing earlier works under his own imprint would have been a logical step for the now-famous composer.

C. Work Catalogue Reference

The Ungarische Fantasie is identified by catalogue numbers in different systems. A Lehár work catalogue referenced in discussion assigns it NV 151. The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) uses the internal reference number IFL 22.

IV. Scoring and Sound: Instrumentation and Arrangements

A. Original Orchestration

The original scoring for Franz Lehár's Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45, features the Solo Violin accompanied by a relatively modest orchestra. The specified forces include:

• Woodwinds: 1 Flute, 2 Clarinets (in B♭)
• Strings: Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Basses

This instrumentation, lacking brass and extensive percussion, is characteristic of lighter concertante works and salon orchestra pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lehár's extensive experience as a military bandmaster, where ensembles often performed a wide "civilian" repertoire sometimes augmented with strings, would have made him adept at writing effectively for such forces. The lean orchestration ensures transparency, allowing the solo violin's virtuosic lines and melodic contours to project clearly without being overshadowed by dense orchestral textures. This practical scoring would have also made the piece performable by a wider range of ensembles beyond major symphony orchestras, including the spa orchestras and professionalized military bands common in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The focus remains squarely on the soloist, appropriate for a Fantasie designed to showcase technical brilliance and melodic charm.

B. Common Arrangements

As noted, the arrangement for Violin and Piano has been crucial to the work's dissemination and accessibility since its initial publication in 1897. The 1908 Schmidl edition, prepared by Pier Adolfo Tirindelli, became a standard version. Tirindelli, a respected violinist, composer, and pedagogue active in Italy and later teaching in Cincinnati, brought his expertise to the arrangement, ensuring its idiomatic quality for both instruments.

The existence of Tirindelli's arrangement for Flute and Piano further attests to the work's adaptable melodic appeal.

C. Key Editions and Arrangements of Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45

The following table summarizes the key published versions of Lehár's Op. 45, consolidating information regarding format, publisher, editor, and date to aid in locating the music:

V. Musical Portrait: Analysis of the Style Hongrois

A. General Style

Franz Lehár's Ungarische Fantasie, Op. 45, belongs firmly within the Romantic era tradition. Its designation as a Fantasia implies a composition characterized by formal freedom, often featuring an episodic structure that allows for dramatic contrasts in tempo, mood, and character. Such works frequently serve as vehicles for virtuosic display, showcasing the technical prowess of the soloist, and Op. 45 is no exception.

B. The Style Hongrois Connection

The work's title, Ungarische Fantasie or Magyar ábránd, explicitly signals its engagement with the style hongrois. This term refers to a specific musical vocabulary employed by Western European composers, primarily from the mid-18th to the early 20th century, to evoke the musical character of Hungary. Crucially, this style was often less about authentic Hungarian folk music and more about imitating the distinctive performance practices and repertoire of Romani ("Gypsy") musicians, who were highly popular entertainers throughout Europe. Composers like Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, and Franz Schubert famously incorporated elements of this style into their works.

Lehár was uniquely positioned to engage with this idiom. His Hungarian birth and upbringing gave him an intrinsic connection to the cultural milieu. Furthermore, his identity as a violinist aligned him with the instrument most prominently associated with the virtuosic Romani prímás (lead violinist). His career as a military bandmaster immersed him in the diverse musical landscape of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where the style hongrois was a pervasive element in both popular and art music. Consequently, his use of the style in Op. 45 likely stemmed from both personal affinity and professional familiarity.

C. Identifying Style Hongrois Elements in the Fantasie

Based on scholarly descriptions of the style hongrois, one can anticipate several characteristic features in Lehár's Fantasie:

• Rhythmic Features: The piece likely employs sharp, energetic rhythms. Key elements include pronounced dotted rhythms, particularly the characteristic quaver followed by a semiquaver pattern, often used for incisive effect. Syncopation, including the "limping" alla zoppa rhythm, is another hallmark. Expect rapid shifts in tempo and rhythmic values, creating contrasts reminiscent of the lassú (slow) and friss (fast) sections of the Hungarian Csárdás, culminating in an "effectful Csárdás" as noted in one description. Anapaestic figures (short-short-long) and virtuosic triplet passages are also common components of the style.
• Melodic Patterns: The melodic language is expected to be impassioned and ornamented. Look for specific melodic turns and figures, such as bokázó-like cadential patterns (often involving repeated notes or octave leaps). Scale motifs, perhaps incorporating the augmented second characteristic of the "Gypsy scale," might add exotic colour. The solo violin part likely features improvisatory-sounding flourishes, runs, and embellishments, reflecting the admired style of the Romani prímás violinist, who often served as both soloist and conductor. Contrasts between intensely lyrical, expressive melodies and fiery, rapid passagework are typical.
• Harmony: While fundamentally rooted in late Romantic major-minor tonality, the harmonic language might be spiced with modal inflections or chromaticism associated with the style hongrois, adding colour and intensity.
• Structure: The Fantasia form itself is well-suited to the often episodic nature of style hongrois compositions. It allows for the juxtaposition of contrasting sections – slow and melancholic alternating with fast and exuberant – without adhering to strict classical forms. This mirrors the traditional pairing of lassú and friss dance movements.
• Virtuosity: The work is inherently a showpiece for the solo violin. The technical demands placed on the soloist – rapid scales, arpeggios, double stops, intricate bowing patterns – are central to the style hongrois, which celebrated the dazzling technical facility of its performers.

D. Lehár's Synthesis

Lehár's Ungarische Fantasie should not be viewed merely as an ethnographic imitation, but rather as a skillful synthesis. He integrates the recognizable gestures and affects of the style hongrois – its characteristic rhythms, melodic shapes, and virtuosic spirit – within the established conventions of a Romantic concert piece, the Fantasia. He employs standard, albeit modest, orchestral forces. This approach reflects his formal training at the Prague Conservatory combined with his deep immersion in the popular musical idioms of his Austro-Hungarian environment. The Fantasie represents an early example of his ability to blend popular "exotic" styles with the techniques of art music, crafting a work designed for both audience appeal and artistic merit. This talent for synthesis would become a hallmark of his later, immensely successful operettas, which masterfully weave together waltzes, marches, folk elements, and romantic sentiment. Thus, Op. 45 provides a valuable insight into Lehár's compositional development, showcasing his instrumental prowess