Grande Valse de Concert, Op.41

The waltz reached Russia at an early stage in its development but what established it in that country in its authentic Viennese form was the regular and immensely successful seasons of concerts given by the Strauss family in the Vauxhall Pavilion at Pavlovsk - which was linked to St Petersburg by 19 miles of railway - in the 1850 and 1860s. The tradition is very clear in Glazunov’s Grande Valse de Concert, Op.41, which, far from following Tchaikovsky’s distinctive development of the dance in his ballets, is unmistakably Viennese in style. Written in St Petersburg in 1893 and better known perhaps in its brilliant orchestral version, it makes idiomatic use of the syncopations, hesitations and teasing tempo fluctuations which are such familiar features of Strauss waltzes. It is also resourcefully constructed, neatly modulating from one tune to the next, applying adventurous harmonies to their development, and sustaining a most effective acceleration from the last appearance of the Allegretto main theme to the Presto at the end.