Brahms' oeuvre is a rich treasury of Hungarian-style musical elements. Many threads linked him to the Hungarian music scene: he knew Ede Reményi, with whom he went on concert tours; he was a friend of József Joachim, who served in the court of the King of Hanover; he gave concerts in Pest, and once even went to Transylvania; and his extant music library in Vienna contains many collections of Hungarian songs and dances.

Brahms originally wrote the Hungarian Dances, a cycle of 21 pieces, for p...