This volume contains Liszt's earliest pieces written in a Hungarian style. The complete set of Magyar dallok / Ungarische National-Melodien [Hungarian songs] consisting of 11 items is published here for the first time in a scholarly edition. The composer began to write them resulting from his first return visit to Pest in 1839. The music of these pieces was partly re-used by Liszt at the beginning of the 1850s in his deservedly popular 15 Hungarian Rhapsodies. The Carnival at Pest was inspired by his second tour of Hungary in 1846; it was later re-worked as the 9th Hungarian Rhapsody. The present volume also contains the so far unknown very first version of the 1st Hungarian Rhapsody, and in addition two large fragments from the 1840s plus a number of album leaves.

A detailed preface in Hungarian, English, and German, including new research results, numerous manuscript facsimiles, and critical notes, makes this volume of the New Liszt Edition an important publication of immense scholarly value. Along with the cloth-bound Complete Edition, a paperback version for practical use has also been published. This edition's contents are identical to those of the hardcover edition with the exception that the critical notes are not included.