Miklós Rózsa composed the Rhapsody op. 3 at the age of 22 while studying composition with Herrmann Grabner in Leipzig. Rózsa’s first orchestral work, the Rhapsody, was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in the same year. It is also his first work for solo instrument and orchestra. He dedicated it to Hans Münch-Holland, then principal cellist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, who was the soloist at the premiere in Leipzig. The Rhapsody opens with a melody by the solo cello, only then does the orchestra join in. At the end there is another short solo cadenza in the long and partly virtuoso coda. The composition covers a wide tonal range of the cello. The piano reduction of the rhapsody was written by Rózsa himself.