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54 BRAHMS_COMPLETE SOLO PIANOWORKS
The Twenty-one Hungarian Dances were likewise
composed over a period of years (from 1852 to 1869) and
initially for piano four hands before being arranged
(the first ten only) for two hands. They too derive from
Brahms’s early years, spent with Eduard Reményi who
introduced him to Hungarian folklore. Brahms did
not assign them an opus number, regarding them as
mere arrangements of traditional tunes, even though
nos.11, 14 and 16 of the four-hand set are apparently
original themes. But they earned him an international
popularity that eventually proved to be lucrative.