Hungarian March from Damnation of Faust

The Medical College of Wisconsin Orchestra
Spring 2023 Concert
Hungarian March from Damnation of Faust 
By Hector Berlioz
Conducted by: Alexander Mandl, DMA
Hector Berlioz's (1803-1869) approach to Goethe’s Faust was liberal indeed, and the Germans fumed at the liberties he took with their beloved masterpiece. As the legend on which the play is based was ancient and therefore in “public domain,” he did not hesitate to rearrange scenes as he saw fit and even add scenes that Goethe never dreamt of.
Berlioz inserted the Hungarian March, also known as Rakoczy March, at the end of Part I of The Damnation of Faust largely because he liked the melody. He actually had composed the movement in 1846 for a conducting gig in Budapest, where he was asked to compose a piece on a Hungarian national tune. Choosing the Rakoczy theme, which was used as a national air by the independence movement and was long forbidden in Hungary, he scored a smashing success. The melody is named in honor of the aristocratic Rakoczy family, rulers of Transylvania between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, who fought for independence against Austria. It was composed in 1809 by John Bihari and is possibly based on an older tune. Liszt also used the tune in the Hungarian Rhapsody No.15.