Cheesy Classical Music You Should Know: The "Blue Danube" Waltz

-
On every January 1 since 1939, the Vienna Philharmonic has been waltzing in the new year at the Musikverein. In all of these concerts, Johann Strauss Jr.'s music is the most prominent musical fixture.

Although it was his father, along with Josef Lanner, who popularized Austria's indigenous 3/4 dance music, Johann Strauss Jr. was the true "Waltz King"; by the time he passed in 1899, his music was beloved worldwide, from Bosnia to Boston.

Most people are familiar with his "Blue Danube" Waltz; the Vienna Phil plays it on every New Year's Day concert--and of course, it's part of the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack:

As respected for his dance music as he was in his time--Brahms was but one noted admirer and friend--and as historically important as he is for it today, Strauss was also a successful stage composer. He wrote a ballet based on Cinderella, and provided competition to Offenbach with operettas such as his Die Fledermaus (1874):

This year, the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Day concert is broadcast in over 70 countries, and you can watch it on PBS. Just try not to think too hard about who was in Vienna in 1939 when this tradition all started, and what it might have meant back then.

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe Michael Kaiser Just Isn't Looking in the Right Places

-
On Sequenza21, Armondo Bayalo claims that Michael Kaiser is "just plain wrong about the state of the art"--and then proceeds to tell us all the reasons why he's right. Bayalo's real point isn't that Kaiser is wrong, but that he is only right within his own big-arts frame of reference. He doesn't see all the great stuff that's going in "smaller, leaner operations" than the Kennedy Center: Fair enough, but part of the problem is that the funders and fundraisers who hold the purse strings aren't willing to invest in those grass-roots groups so that they can grow.
Read more

Louisville Orchestra Restructuring Slog

-
The dreary business of the Louisville Orchestra's restructuring is going forward, with the CEO threatening to close up shop if he has to pay the band. Today, a US Bankruptcy Court judge ruled that the organization can't cut its budget by voiding its contract with its musicians ,who will now get cheques until April as a result, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. In testimony prior to the ruling , the board president, Chuck Maisch, said that the orchestra could only honor the contract by dipping into its endowment; the orchestra's CEO, Robert Birman, said that the orchestra would simply have to liquidate assets. It looks as if that  the proceedings start up again in Louisville on January 6 .
Read more

Cheesy Classical Music You Should Know: Ravel's Bolero (Part II)

-
Here's what Uncle Fred had to say about Ravel's Bolero : "It's the most descriptive sex music ever written." According to his niece-in-law Jenny, played by Bo Derek in 10 , "he proved it." To anyone with qualms about pedophilia (I'm firmly in this camp), Jenny's little story, meant to seduce poor hapless George (Dudley Moore), is uncomfortable, to say the least. (The whole movie gives me the creeps.) Although he was an incestuous cad, Uncle Fred had a point about Bolero . As mentioned in an earlier post , the piece opens with the snare drum playing the distinctive rhythmic pattern of the Spanish dance it's named after. The seductive flute melody that enters shortly after sets in motion a gradual blossoming to a climactic finale; as that rhythm pulses below, the melody repeats, the orchestration expands, and the music becomes ever more incessant and powerful. It's hard not to get all worked up when you listen to it. Bolero set Rav...
Read more