Brahms was barely twenty, making his living by teaching and accepting odd piano engagements, when he became accompanist to the noted Hungarian violinist Edouard Reményi. It was during his extensive tours with Reményi, an exciting interpreter of the music of his native country, that Brahms developed a fascination for Hungarian folk music. Many of his later compositions notably his Piano Quartet, Op. 25, the Violin Concerto, Op. 77 and the Gypsy Songs, Op. 103 reflect this influence, but none better than the four volumes of 'Hungarian Dances,' written between 1852 and 1869. Originally, this collection included 21 settings for piano duet a form of music-making which was a gighly popular type of entertainment for professionals and amateurs alike in those days. Later, as these settings became successful and a demand for them arose from orchestras and instrumentalists of every description, Brahms himself provided orchestral settings for Dances Nos. 1, 3 and 10. His good friend, Antonin Dvoák, who shared Brahm's