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An der schönen blauen Donau (By the Beautiful Blue Danube) waltz, Op.314
Gerald Larner wrote 2 versions of differing length — choose one below.
John Strauss II (1825-1899)
Waltz: By the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op.314
The Viennese waltz - as Johann Strauss developed it and his more famous son of the same name perfected it - is not just a one-tune affair. Like By the Beautiful Blue Danube, it might consist of many as five distinct waltz-time sections in succession, each one of them based on two different themes. Clearly, as the composer of well over a hundred waltzes (not including those in his operettas), Johann II was a uniquely resourceful melodist. Written for the Vienna Men’s Choral Association in 1867, this most familiar of Viennese waltzes was originally scored for chorus and orchestra and in that form it has achieved something like the status of a national anthem. The choral version, however, doesn’t have the splendid coda which in the orchestral version recalls and brieflly develops the main themes of four of the five sections, referring back to the leisurely introduction and effortlessly completing a perfectly integrated construction.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “An der schönen blauen Donau/rra”
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
An der schönen blauen Donau (By the Beautiful Blue Danube) waltz, Op.314
The Blue Danube waltz is not only the last word in flattery - the Danube in Vienna is a muddy brown in most lights - but also the ultimate example of the concert waltz. In company with some of the most distinguished examples of its kind, it consists of as many as five distinct waltz-time sections, each one of them based on two different themes. Clearly, as the composer of well over a hundred waltzes (not including those in his operettas), Johann II was a uniquely resourceful melodist. Written for the Vienna Men’s Choral Association in 1867, this most familiar of Viennese waltzes was originally scored for chorus and orchestra and in that form it has achieved something like the status of a national anthem. The choral version, however, doesn’t have the splendid coda which in the orchestral version recalls and briefly develops the main themes of four of the five sections, referring back to the leisurely introduction and effortlessly completing a perfectly integrated construction. It flows just as easily as the Danube itself, and far more colourfully.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “An der schönen blauen Donau/dif”