Liberal Arts Blog —The Waltz (III): Brahms, Dvorak, Mancini
Liberal Arts Blog — Saturday is the Joy of Sports, Dance, Fitness, and All Things Physical Day
Today’s Topic — Dance (V) The Waltz, Part Three: Brahms (“Waltz in A flat”), Dvorak (“Tempo di Valse”), Mancini (“Moon River”)
To my knowledge, no dance has as much great music written for it as the waltz. To me, no form of physical exercise has more primal appeal than dancing. What better solution then to the problem of getting enough physical movement during Covid conditions than waltzing? My answer? There is none. So I continue the dance series this week with three more fabulous waltzes. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) — Waltz in A Flat, Opus 39, №15 (1865)
1. The third of the three Bs of classical musical — Bach, Beethoven, Brahms.
2. One of a series of 16 short waltzes published in three different versions simultaneously — a four hands version (the original) plus a simple version and difficult version for solo piano.
3. Written as a tribute to his adopted city of Vienna, the world’s waltz capital.
NB: This waltz is worthy of Chopin! Don’t miss it! Try dancing to it!
Brahms Waltz in A-Flat Major, Op. 39 №15 — Evgeny Kissin
ANTON DVORAK (1841–1904) — “Tempo di Valse” (1875)
1. Dvorak was a Czech nationalist famous for using folk themes in his music.
2. World famous, he was lured to the United States with an exorbitant salary in 1892 but returned to Europe in 1895 after the Panic of 1893 slashed the payments in half. While there he was a huge proponent of African American spirituals as the heart of American music.
3. The “Tempo di Valse” is the second movement of the Serenade in E Major (Opus 22). It premiered in Prague in 1876.
NB: To me, this waltz is of the same caliber as anything by Strauss II or Tchaikovsky.
Antonin Dvorak, tempo di valse
HENRY MANCINI (1924–1994) — “Moon River” (1961)
1. Born in Cleveland’s “Little Italy,” Mancini was the son of Italian immigrants. He would eventually be nominated for 70 Grammys and win 20 and for 18 Academy Awards and win 4.
2. His most famous work is probably the “Pink Panther Theme” — which, ironically, did not win an Academy Award in 1964 — losing out to “Mary Poppins.”
3. “Moon River” was written for the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (starring Audrey Hepburn). It won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammys for Best Song of the Year and Best Record of the Year.
NB: “Moon River” became the signature song of Andy Williams and was covered by artists from Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong to Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand. The lyrics are by Johnny Mercer.
BACKGROUND
Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 (Brahms)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (3/9) Movie CLIP — Moon River (1961) HD
Click here for the last three years of posts arranged by theme:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to sports, dance, fitness. Or the coolest thing you learned about Sports, Dance, of Fitness in your life — whether on the field, on the dance floor or in the gym, whether from a coach, a parent, a friend, or just your own experimentation.
This is your chance to make some one else’s day. Or even change their life. It’s perhaps a chance to put into words something you have never articulated before. Or to cement in your own memory something cool you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart.
