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A section from Johann Strauss' Waltz from Die Fledermaus

An waltz, or valse from the French term, is a piece of music in triple meter, most often 3/4 but sometimes 3/8 or 6/8. A waltz has a 1.2.3. - 1.2.3. count and (generally) a slow tempo. Waltzes typically have one chord per measure, with the root of the chord as the first note. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Johann Strauss is the name of three famous Austrian composers: Johann Strauss I (1804-1849), composer, popularizer of the waltz Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), composer, son of Johann I, known as the Waltz King Johann Strauss III (1866-1939), composer, son of Eduard Strauss See also: Strauss This is... Scene from the 1984 version. ... Look up waltz in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ... The root (basse fondamentale) of a chord is the note upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as built or centered, the root of a chord in root position or normal form. ...

Classical composers traditionally supplied music for dancing when required, and Schubert's waltzes were written for household dancing, without any pretense at being art music. However, Chopin's 18 waltzes, along with his mazurkas and polonaises, were clearly not intended to be danced. They marked the adoption of the waltz and other dance forms as serious composition genres. For the crater on the moon, see Schubert (crater) Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer. ... Frédéric François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple time with a usually moderate tempo, containing a heavy accent on the third beat. ... Typical rhythm of a Polonaise For a robe à la polonaise, see Polonaise (clothing). ...

Other notable contributions to the waltz genre in classical music include 16 by Brahms (originally for piano duet), and Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales for piano and La Valse for orchestra. Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of classical music. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Duet may refer to: Duet, musical form Duet, Fox sitcom This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, best known for his orchestral work, Boléro, and his famous 1922 orchestral arrangement of Modest Mussorgskys Pictures at an Exhibition. ... Both Schubert and Ravel composed Waltzes (Valses) that were characterised as noble and/or sentimental. ...

The waltz style is found in nearly every kind of European and Euro-American folk music and also in classical music. Although waltzes are often associated with the dance of the same name, not all waltzes were composed as dances—some were written for concert performance. “Folk song” redirects here. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... A waltz (German: , Italian: , French: , Catalan: ) is a ballroom and folk dance in   time, done primarily in closed position. ...

Waltz had once held so much importance in European music circles that great waltz composers received the honorary title of “Waltz King”. The title came with an accompanying “royal staff”, a decorated silver baton which was passed from musician to musician. Johann Strauss Junior, the most famous “Waltz King”, received the title frequently. The music of Europe includes the music of Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe. ... Johann Strauss II The Waltz King coming to life in the Stadtpark, Vienna Johann Strauss II (German: Johann Strauß (Sohn), Johann Strauss (son); in English also Johann Strauss the Younger, Johann Strauss Jr. ...

Examples

Classical Waltz

Many classical composers have written waltzes, including:

• The Strauss family—notably Johann Strauss Senior and Junior, composer of the famous “The Blue Danube”—were perhaps the most famous of waltz composers.
• Joseph Haydn contributed classical waltzes.
• Ludwig van Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations are based on a simple waltz by Anton Diabelli.
• Frédéric Chopin’s waltzes for the piano are well known, among them the “Minute Waltz”.
• Jean Sibelius’s orchestral Valse triste is an unusually slow, even morbid example of a waltz for full orchestra.
• Maurice Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (originally for piano, but arranged by Ravel for orchestra) and orchestral La Valse are well known.
• Impressionistic composer Claude Debussy’s Valse Romantique is an example of a post-Romantic waltz though, as characterised by this period of music, the work contains so many rhythmic changes and rubato that it is barely considered a waltz.
• Many other 20^th century composers have composed waltzes, including Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Stravinsky.

Waltes can also be found as part of larger works: Johann Strauss I Johann Strauss I (German: Johann Strauß) born in Vienna, March 14, 1804 – September 25, 1849) was an Austrian composer known particularly for his waltzes and for popularizing it alongside Josef Lanner thereby (without intention) setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. ... Johann Strauss II The Waltz King coming to life in the Stadtpark, Vienna Johann Strauss II (German: Johann Strauß (Sohn), Johann Strauss (son); in English also Johann Strauss the Younger, Johann Strauss Jr. ... The Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau op. ... Portrait by Thomas Hardy, 1792 Franz[1] Joseph Haydn (March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was one of the most prominent composers of the Classical period, and is called by some the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent... 1820 portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer. ... The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli Op. ... Anton Diabelli (September 6, 1781-April 7, 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. ... The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin, believed to have been taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson in 1849. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... The Waltz in D flat major, opus 64, No. ... Johan Julius Christian Jean/Janne Sibelius ( ; December 8, 1865 – September 20, 1957) was a Finnish composer of classical music and one of the most notable composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... External links Maurice Ravels La Valse An analysis and history of Maurice Ravels La Valse Category: ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists, who began exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s. ... Achille-Claude Debussy (IPA ) (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) was a French composer. ... Dmitri Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Aram Ilich Khachaturian (Armenian: Ô±Ö€Õ¡Õ´ Ô½Õ¡Õ¹Õ¡Õ¿Ö€ÕµÕ¡Õ¶, Aram Xačatryan; Russian: Аpaм Ильич XaчaÑ‚ypян, Aram Ilič Hačaturjan) (June 6, 1903 – May 1, 1978) was a composer of classical music. ... Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: , Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov), also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (March 6 (O.S. March 18), 1844 – June 8 (O.S. June 21) 1908) was a Russian composer, one of five Russian composers known as The Five, and was later a teacher of harmony and... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ...

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony shows an example of a waltz standing in for the more usual minuet or scherzo.
• A number of ballets and operas, notably Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, contain waltzes.

Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайкoвский, Pëtr Il’ič ÄŒajkovskij;  )[1] (7 May [O.S. 25 April] 1840 – 6 November [O.S. 25 October] 1893), was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. ... A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ... Painting of ballet dancers by Edgar Degas, 1872. ... The New Opera in Oslo, Norway The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Der Rosenkavalier (The Cavalier of the Rose) is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. ...

Contemporary Waltz

Contemporary composers have also made use of the waltz form. Notable examples include:

• Danny Elfman, who heavily utilizes the waltz rhythm in his many motion picture scores including Batman and Spider-Man
• Brian Wilson, whose waltzes, composed in the late 1960s, are found on the Beach Boys albums Friends and 20/20
• Suzanne Vega, whose song “Bad Wisdom” is another notable modern waltz
• Elliott Smith, a pop musician who also wrote several pieces in waltz time

Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer-songwriter who led the rock band Oingo Boingo from 1978 until its breakup in 1995, and has since gone on to become one of the most sought-after film score composers working in Hollywood today. ... Batman is an American Academy Award-winning superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. ... Spider-Man is a 2002 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. ... Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California), is an American pop musician, best known as the lead songwriter, bassist, and lead singer of the American rock band The Beach Boys. ... The Beach Boys, originally the Beech Boys, a small team of four brothers from the south of Poland, emigrated to America in the early 1950s in search of a fortune to be made in the Arizonian logging industry. When it soon became evident they had been the victims of... Friends is the only studio album release by The Beach Boys in 1968. ... 20/20 is the sole 1969 album release by The Beach Boys, and their last studio album to be released with Capitol Records for the next seventeen years. ... Suzanne Vega in 2006 Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American songwriter and singer known for her highly literate lyrics and eclectic folk-inspired music. ... Steven Paul Elliott Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. ...

See Also

• Mazurka
• Polonaise