The Hungarian Rondo by Árpád Balázs is cheerful, good-humoured music, a finely formed work crafted withgreat professional skill. Its structure is clear: the double recurrence of the rondo theme results in a five-part form. The two episodes differ in character. The first consists of increasingly densely woven imitations that chase eachother playfully, the second evokes the mood of bagpipe tunes. In the latter, above the melody moving evenly in crotchets in the middle parts a pastel-tinted cloud of woodwind notes floats upwards, while the sound is extended downwards by the deep-toned brass stepping lower by semitones. A brilliant device by the composer! In thecourse of its repeats the rondo theme appears more and more richly garbed, particularly the sparkling semiquavers of the woodwind make it ever more decorative. The Hungarian Rondo is the kind of music that drives your cares away.