MusiLLection

Strauss often played in the glittering Imperial balls, conducting the orchestra and playing the first violin at the same time.   The majestic Emperor Waltz by Johann Strauss II was composed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph’s reign in 1888. Strauss, Music Director of the Imperial Court’s Dance Hesperides from 1863 to 1872, occasionally wrote pieces for imperial anniversaries, and this waltz stands out as one of his most iconic ceremonial works. The waltz’s ingenious melody, originally orchestrated for full orchestra, was so adaptable that Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg arranged it for a chamber ensemble of four or five instruments in 1925. Tender and somewhat melancholic, the Emperor Waltz often gazes nostalgically toward old Vienna. It celebrates the majesty and dignity of the emperor, devoted to his people, while blending ceremonial grandeur with lyrical charm. The piece opens with a majestic march that soon swells into a full orchestra...

  Performance of the ballet "Adélaïde, ou le langage des fleurs" in 1912. The seven "Valses nobles et sentimentales" and the epilogue of this orchestral suite were originally written for piano in 1911.  Maurice Ravel  chose the title in homage to Franz Schubert , who had released collections of waltzes in 1823 entitled Valses nobles and Valses sentimentales.  The work was first presented in Paris in a recital of anonymous compositions. Many of Ravel's fans disapproved of the music, not imagining that the deliberate "wrong notes" belonged to one of the most beloved French composers. In 1912 Ravel orchestrated the suite and presented it as a ballet under the title "Adélaïde, ou le langage des fleurs (Adelaide: The Language of Flowers). The dynamic start reminds us that this is an unusual waltz. On the contrary, the second part is slow and expressive. For this lanzy subject, Ravel chose the flute, which plays in its lower extension. With a relaxed ob...

Originally written as aria in order to accompany a famous Italian soprano "Voices of Spring" did not make a good impression on the Viennese audience, who found the work mediocre and the melody vague. On the contrary, they met with widespread popularity abroad.  The dance became popular in Vienna when Johann Strauss II decided to orchestrate it for concertos and among his many admirers was the famous pianist and composer Frantz Liszt . After the rhythm of the waltz is introduced by the bass, the woodwinds, with the support of the entire orchestra, slide into a lyrical melody full of trills, gllisanti and other musical decorations. Then the music incorporates the gentle rustling of the leaves, distant hunting horns and sweet singing of birds. Sometimes the music moves gently and slowly in an almost sad mood, before re-rocking with magnificence to a joyful purpose and then evolving into the wonderful climax of the end.

Franz Liszt composed four Valses Oublièes from 1881 to 1884, when he was seventy years old. Despite his age, his thinking was still very creative. This work, like many of his later works, shows a significant advance in harmony and style compared to his early compositions. Although it's written like a regular waltz, this pianistic work features a more vivid gait than Strauss's Viennese waltzes and is more closely related to Chopin 's waltzes. It combines bursts of technical intelligence with a keen interest in harmony - advanced and daring for their time. The work ends with exceptional originality, letting the music hover in the atmosphere.

At Chopin's time, the composition of a "waltz concerto" was not new - composers like Mozart had helped shape this form. However, the elements, introduced by Chopin , was new. He turned the waltz into a musical genre of exceptional subtlety and kindness, dominated by the piano. The composer was still a teenager when he composed his first work in this form and continued to compose waltzes almost until the end of his life.  Waltz in G-flat major, Op. 70, No.1 In this waltz, the melody is full of vibrancy. Then a slow dreamy musical idea is presented and the rhythm changes abruptly. But the new mood doesn't last long. The first melody returns, now like a coda, completing the work serenely. Waltz in F minor, Op. 70, No. 2 Although this waltz is particularly lively, the prevailing mood is melancholy. The two melodies on which the work is based are the first in minor tonality and the second in major and are interpreted twice. The waltz is calmly completed in a major tonality...

Chopin was not the first composer to compose waltz for piano, but his approach was particularly unique. Many composers had written similar works, but Chopin's waltzes were not intended for dance. Chopin composed approximately twenty waltzes, bus only half were issued while he was alive. The rest of his work was published after his death and many even in a highly curated edition. One minute Waltz, Op. 63, No. 1 The "One Minute Waltz" needs considerable technical boldness. This work was meant to last about a minute, although it is not known whether any pianist - other than Chopin himself - ever achieved that. Waltz No. 7 in C minor, Op. 64, No. 2 This waltz is unusually expressive, drawing much of its effect from the interaction of different rhythmic patterns. It also includes a melody of exceptional beauty and emotion. Waltz in A flat Major, Op. 64, No.3 This waltz is simple and short and the thythm is relaxed. Here Chopin has chosen a pure structure. The solf central s...