Among the first works composed in Berlin by the young José Viana da Mota were the Fantasiestück, Op. 2, brimming with Schumannesque cantabile, and the more fiery, Liszt-inspired Zwei Klavierstücke nach A. Böcklin. Written when the composer had established himself as one of the great virtuoso pianists of the Liszt school, the Rapsódias Portuguesas draw upon native fado tunes, religious and love songs and children’s round dances to create a vivid and idealised mosaic of Portuguese national identity.