Ungarische Fantasie · Ungarische Rhapsodien Nr. 4 Und Nr.5 / Ungarische Tänze Nr. 17 · 18 · 19 Und 20

Released in 1976 as part of the Deutsche Grammophon Privilege series, this recording captures a collaboration between the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and the pianist Shura Cherkassky. The collection brings together Romantic-era staples, pairing Liszt’s Ungarische Fantasie and Rhapsodies with Brahms’s Hungarian Dances, reflecting a mid-1970s push by major labels to repackage high-fidelity archival recordings for a wider, more accessible audience.

The performance is defined by Karajan’s precise, lush approach to orchestral color, balanced against Cherkassky’s idiosyncratic and highly expressive keyboard style. While the pieces were established repertoire, this specific pressing was designed to highlight the technical clarity of Deutsche Grammophon's engineering during that era. It remains a notable document of the stylistic friction between the polished orchestral discipline of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the deeply individualistic, improvisatory flair of Cherkassky.