No. 10 in E Major

The latter half of this Hungarian Rhapsody transforms into a crucible of excitement. It can express the image of Gypsies dancing as if mad. As it is a very showy piece, it makes an excellent choice for encores. It begins showily from the very first three measures. There are three ascending scale cadenzas, one per measure. The trick to playing these scales is not to apply force to every single note, but only to the first and last two or three notes. The notes in between do not need to be played firmly deep into the keybed. It is important to ascend the scales as quickly and lightly as possible.

Naturally, the dynamics in this case should be louder in the second measure than the first, and louder in the third than the second; however, starting the first measure too modestly would lack impact. Pay attention to the fact that the first beat of each measure is a quarter note. And as the measures progress, it would be good to slightly lengthen these quarter notes. Therefore, for the third one, apply a broadening effect, taking ample time on the quarter note.

Play measures 8-9 with slightly larger dynamics, also strongly and brilliantly, compared to measures 6-7. However, do not forget that measure 10 is dolce con eleganza, and play it softly and quietly.

Measures 14-21 are like a variation of measures 6-13, with the same content. From measure 22, new material appears: play the legato sections with pedal to achieve legato (measures 22-23), the leggiero sections lightly (measures 24-25), and the sections requiring stronger expression with strong expression (measure 26), bringing out each character. Thereafter, until measure 40, never become heavy, and do not produce too much volume; play lightly and fluently.

Measures 40-47: a cadenza. Play improvisationally. Measures 48-63: gradually increase the tempo from slow, building tension. However, maintain dolce and leggiero throughout, avoiding heaviness.

Measures 64-81: a depiction of guitar-like instruments. A crescendo begins from measure 78; it would be good to simultaneously accelerate the tempo, reaching measure 81.

Measures 82-88: a cadenza with three chords. Measure 82 is the first chord, measure 83 the second, and measure 84 the third, which is then repeated from measure 86. Although the third chord might seem like a resolution of the second, the music crescendos forward. Ensure the third chord is the loudest.

Measures 89-108 are a showcase of virtuosity through glissandos. The point to note is the rhythm. If you play the notes other than the glissandos, you will understand the rhythmic trick based on two beats.

All glissandos must adhere to the rhythm.

From measure 109, the tempo and volume gradually increase, but the volume can already be quite loud at measure 109. Build tension, also incorporating stringendo, until reaching measure 125.

Measures 125-148 are where the tension is highest in the piece, and the tempo should be played as fast as possible.

However, playing the 10th intervals in the left hand quickly will likely be quite difficult. Therefore, I will impart one practice method. Let's take measure 125 as an example. There are four sixteenth notes per beat. Practicing this in pairs from the downbeat, such as B and D#, D# and F#, will be difficult. Here, practice by shifting by one sixteenth note. That is, practice by pairing octave notes: the second sixteenth note of beat 1 (D#) with the third (D#), then the next F# with the first F# of beat 2, then A with the A an octave below, and so on.

What is important then is, for example, when playing the second sixteenth note of beat 1 (D#) with finger 1, do not lift that finger; keep it pressed down while playing the lower D# with finger 5. By keeping finger 1 down, you train your finger to remember how far away finger 5 needs to be. Similarly, practice all octaves by keeping finger 1 down and playing with finger 5.

In this section, at a fast tempo, finger 5 tends to be weak and the notes may sound indistinct. To ensure finger 5 plays firmly even at a fast tempo, practice keeping the finger shape arched, never extended, which will allow it to strike the keybed solidly.

From measure 144, further increase the tempo, maximizing both tempo and volume until the final chord.