The Ungarische Melodie, D817, belongs to the second of two visits Schubert made to Zelész in Hungary between late May and mid-October 1824. At a salary of 100 florins a month, his duties included teaching and supervising the musical activities of the two daughters of Count Johann Karl Esterházy of Galánta during their summer residence. Schubert still found time to compose and produced several works for piano duet including the C major Sonata ('Grand Duo'), D812, the Variations in A flat major, D813 and the Divertissement à la Hongroise, D818, works presumably envisioned for the girls. He would later dedicate his Fantasie in F minor, D940, to the younger sister Karoline. Contemporary reports indicate Schubert’s Melodie was inspired by a folk tune sung by a Hungarian maid working in the Esterházys’ kitchen. Dated 2nd September 1824, this short piece was to be the impetus behind the more expansive closing Rondo of his three-movement Divertissement à la Hongroise, which later went on to find a home within Franz Liszt’s two-handed transcription Mélodies hongroises d’après Schubert, S425.

from notes by David Truslove © 2020