[Classics] Famous waltzes: recommended popular pieces

Waltz No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2Frederic Chopin

Chopin: Waltz No. 7 · Marine City, Twilight Mao Asada Music

Composed by Chopin, it is said to be a culmination of his compositional technique, featuring a mazurka as the main theme.

It is one of the last works published during his lifetime.

Many people may find it familiar, as figure skater Mao Asada used it for her exhibition program in the 2011–2012 season.

The Skaters’ WaltzÉmile Waldteufel

The Skaters' Waltz — Waldteufel

This is a representative work by Émile Waldteufel, a 19th-century French composer who wrote many waltzes and polkas and is known as the “Waltz King of France.” Commonly known as the Skaters’ Waltz, this piece was inspired by an ice rink located in the Bois de Boulogne, a forest park in Paris.

Its graceful melodies glide as if over ice, sleigh bells seem to evoke gently falling snow, and the rhythmic, bright tone suggests people cheerfully skating and chatting.

It’s a piece that makes you want to go skating just by listening to it.

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Ripples of the DanubeIosif Ivanovici

Ripples of the Danube

This is a work by Ivanovici, a Romanian composer and conductor.

Listening as the piece moves from a leisurely opening to a light, flowing passage, you can almost picture the Danube gliding past before your eyes—sometimes with ripples dancing in the wind.

Cinderella and the Prince, Op. 102-1Sergei Prokofiev

Prokofiev – Waltz (from Cinderella) op. 102 no. 1

This is one of the pieces from the piano suite Six Pieces from Cinderella, Op.

102, drawn from the ballet music composed by the Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev.

Cinderella is based on the fairy tale of the same name, and has been arranged as an orchestral suite, a solo piano suite, and in other versions.

Waltz No. 15, Op. 39-15Johannes Brahms

Brahms: Waltz No. 15 in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15

The 15th piece from the “16 Waltzes, Op.

39,” originally written for piano four hands and later arranged for solo piano.

The work was dedicated to the aesthetician and music critic Eduard Hanslick, who was reportedly surprised that Brahms—an advocate of absolute music—would write waltzes, which were then considered entertainment music.

It is thought that Brahms, impressed by the popular waltzes of Johann Strauss at the time, was inspired by Strauss when composing these pieces.

Rather than an optimistic and merry waltz, this piece reflects Brahms’s temperament in its somewhat solemn and weighty atmosphere.

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