Which composer wrote the Hungarian Rhapsodies for solo piano?

Franz Liszt wrote the Hungarian Rhapsodies for solo piano.

Liszt composed the Hungarian Rhapsodies between 1846 and 1853, drawing on Hungarian themes and the style of the verbunkos tradition. The original set contains 19 rhapsodies for piano, with the most famous being No. 2 in C-sharp minor. Their contrasting sections often move from a slow lassan to a fast friss.

Liszt’s treatment of Hungarian musical material was shaped by the 19th-century belief that certain Romani performance traditions represented specifically Hungarian national music. Later scholarship has distinguished those traditions from older Hungarian folk sources, complicating the cultural background of the set.

Several rhapsodies were later arranged for orchestra, including No. 2. The piano versions remain important examples of Liszt’s virtuoso writing, using rapid scales, wide leaps, repeated notes, and dramatic changes of mood.