The most famous waltzes

Before the French Revolution, a measured minuet was considered the king of dancing. Then came the waltz. Music was composed by many composers. Everyone knows a gentle, exciting melody, it excites hearts and calls to spin in a light graceful dance.

Instruction manual

“Waltz” is a German word, it is based on the verb “spin”. People began to dance with whirling a long time ago. It is believed that the Viennese waltz known to many came from the Austrian dance "Landler", which seemed more rude, lacking lightness and smoothness. Many composers drew attention to the new dance and composed music for it.

The Austrian composer Johann Strauss (Sr.) devoted his life to dance music, especially waltzes. After him, the attitude to creating melodies for the dance that has become popular has radically changed. From short light works intended for entertainment, they turned into deep soulful music that excites the souls of listeners. 152 works of this genre were created by a talented musician; Waltz of the La Bayadere, Danube Songs, Lorelei, Taglioni, and Gabriela are especially famous. Strauss sons were also musically gifted people. Joseph died early, and the name of the eldest son Johann gained worldwide fame.

Johann Strauss (Jr.) became interested in music against the will of his father, who wants to see his son as a lawyer or a businessman. The younger Strauss possessed great musician abilities, wrote his first dance tunes at the age of six. At the age of 19, he created his own ensemble of friends, which later grew into an orchestra. He played the violin in it or performed the duties of a conductor by the author himself. The son who surpassed a famous ancestor completed the Viennese waltz created by his father to perfection, wrote more than three hundred tunes of this genre, for which he was universally recognized as the "waltz king". The "Tales of the Vienna Woods" and "Blue Danube", representing the unity of different national melodies, are considered to be true masterpieces.

The solemn procession of a new dance in Europe continued. Famous Russian composer M.I. Glinka, inspired by the love of Catherine Kern, composed the beautiful “Waltz Fantasy”, overflowing with a flight of love and imagination. For a long time, Glinka carefully polished his work, removing everything unnecessary from the orchestra performance. The first poetic sketch grew into a serious play-poem. The “Waltz Fantasy”, which sounded in a new way, was first presented to the public in Pavlovsk, and Strauss himself was the conductor of the orchestra. Russian symphonic waltzes originate from this musical piece by M.I. Glinka.

For a century, the famous waltzes from ballets by P.I. Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. The waltz is part of Aram Khachaturian’s Musical Suite "Masquerade" composed for the dramatic work of M.Yu. Lermontov. Khachaturian’s romantic noble music reflected human passions: love and jealousy, despair and treachery.

Russian musical life only recently had a wonderful tradition: in the summer brass bands played in city parks. Ancient Russian waltzes were the decoration of concert programs. The authors of many musical compositions were Russian military conductors. I. A. Shatrov, author of the famous waltz "On the hills of Manchuria", gained sufficient fame. His "Country Dreams" created under the impression of love also enjoyed popularity.

Soviet composers did not ignore this genre in the difficult period of the Great Patriotic War. M. Blanter put to music the poem by M. Isakovsky "In the Frontline Forest" - one of the favorite waltzes of wartime appeared. In the works of K. Listov "In the Dugout", M. Fradkin's "Random Waltz" and others, a similar sound is also heard.

Honored master of songwriting Jan Frenkel said that he gave preference to waltz because of the special trust of this musical form and a wide range of images that fit in it. The simple song by J. Frenkel, “The Waltz of Parting, ” which became known after the screening of the feature film “Women, ” has a special effect on the listener.

I. Dunaevsky composed the music of the School Waltz to the words of the poet M. Matusovsky. The lyrical melody penetrated by good sadness awakens pleasant memories of the years of youth, school. The song gained amazing success. And now she certainly excites human hearts, is a musical attribute of school graduation parties.

The beautiful waltz melody from the movie "My Tender and Tender Beast" has become a favorite among many people. The music that makes up the “living nerve” of the film without words seems to convey someone’s emotional drama, calls into the world of dreams and returns to earth again. The popularity of Yevgeny Dogi’s touching melody exceeded the author’s expectations. Now she invariably sounds in the wedding palaces, invites the newlyweds to the first dance.