Puszta, Husaren und Zigeunermusik — Franz Liszt und das Heimatbild von Nikolaus Lenau

Watzatka, Ágnes (2014) Puszta, Husaren und Zigeunermusik — Franz Liszt und das Heimatbild von Nikolaus Lenau. Studia Musicologica, 55 (1-2). pp. 103-118. ISSN 1788-6244

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Abstract

Foreign travellers provided important documentations about Hungary. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the image of the heroic Christian country fighting the pagan Turks took shape. This image was strengthened through the Hussars who distinguished themselves in the battles of Maria Theresia and played an important role in the war of independence in 1848–1849. The Great Hungarian Plain, a sandy steppe, appeared to the travellers as an exotic place with its sand dunes, sand storms, fata morgana, and its inhabitants: shepherds, hussars, and bandits. In the 19^th century, Hungary became a beloved topic of the Western European exotic literature. Through his poetry Nikolaus Lenau brought a high contribution to the image of the exotic Hungary. Born in Hungary and a good violinist, Lenau drew a vivid image of the Gipsy musicians and their music. His poem Die drei Zigeuner (The Three Gipsies) was inspired by a painting of Ferenc Pongrácz, and did inspire another painter, Alois Schönn. Liszt purchased the copy of Schönn’s painting and composed a song on Lenau’s poem. His music proves a deep identification with Lenau’s ideas, with the romantic and yet realistic image of the Gipsies, the representatives of the Hungarian music.

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