Liberal Arts Blog — Waltz (II): Waldteufel, Shostakovich, Verdi
Liberal Arts Blog — Saturday is the Joy of Sports, Dance, Fitness, and All Things Physical Day
Today’s Topic — Dance (IV): The Waltz, Part Two: Waldteufel (“The Skater’s Waltz”), Shostakovich (“The Second Waltz”), Verdi (“Libiamo”)
Three weeks ago, the Rhumba, Mambo, and Bamba. Two weeks ago the Macarena, the Twist, and Salsa. Last week, Part One of a series on the waltz — featuring Strauss II, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin. This week Part Two. Next week Part Three — with works by Brahms, Dvorak, and Mancini. Going crazy all cooped up? Try waltzing. Alone or with a partner. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
EMILE WALDTEUFEL (1837–1915) — THE SKATER’S WALTZ (“Les Patineurs”)
1. One of the most recognizable waltz tunes of all time.
2. Inspired by a skating rink in the Bois de Boulogne. Think Renoir.
3. One of funniest names ever. Waldteufel means “forest devil.” He was French but his name is German. He was an Alsatian Jew born in Strasbourg when it was part of France. After the Franco Prussian War it became part of Germany.
NB: Waldteufel was the court pianist for Empress Eugenie and accompanied her husband Napoleon III who played the violin. Also put in charge of the imperial balls. “After the Empire, the orchestra still played at the presidential balls at the Elysee.” He would also play for Queen Victoria at Buckingham palace.
Émile Waldteufel — The Skater’s Waltz, Op. 183
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) — “The Second Waltz”
1. Shostakovich is controversial. Some see him as an apologist for the Soviet regime. Others as a closet dissident. He was denounced twice under Stalin but he also received many accolades from the state and was a member of the Supreme Soviet in 1947 and from 1962 until his death.
2. He was prolific — 15 symphonies, 6 concerti, 3 operas, 15 string quartets, ballets, film music, song cycles….
3. “The Second Waltz” is from “Suite for Variety Orchestra.”
NB: The Second Waltz was used in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999).
Dmitri Shostakovich — The Second Waltz
Suite for Jazz Orchestra №2 (Shostakovich)
Suite for Variety Orchestra (Shostakovich)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dmitri-Shostakovich
GIUSEPPI VERDI (1813–1901) — “Libiamo” (1853) — “Let’s drink!”
1. Although not technically a waltz, this song feels like a waltz.
2. It is from the opera, La Traviata, and is sung as a duet for tenor and soprano with chorus.
3. Classified a “brindisi” (“toast”), that is, a drinking song. The full title is “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” *(Let us drink from the joyful cups.)
NB: Verdi’s other masterpieces include: Aida (1871), Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (1853), the Requiem (1874), Otello (1887). and Falstaff (1893).
La Traviata: “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici”
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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.
