Classical 24: Johan Strauss’ Waltzes

(A) Introduction

Listening to Also sprach Zarathustra, which I wrote about in my last post, made me want to rent 2001: A Space Odyssey again.  I think Stanley Kubrick was a big fan of guys named Strauss, because he used Johan Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz for the magnificent docking sequence early on in the movie.

 

(B) Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)

First things first: Johann Strauss and Richard Strauss aren’t related.  I thought they were.  Oops.

 

Johann was known in his lifetime as “the waltz king”.  He wrote roughly 400 of them and almost single-handedly made it popular.  By the time he was done, the waltz had gone from being a grubby peasant dance to a favourite form of entertainment for the Hapsburg court.

 

His dad Johann I, also a composer, didn’t want his son to follow in his footsteps – he wanted him to become a banker instead.  But Junior rebelled.  It wasn’t easy – a lot of concert halls were reluctant to hire him in his youth because they were worried they’d make dad – already an established composer – pretty mad.  So he left home to compose in foreign lands.  Junior wasn’t just rebelling against his father, he also sided with the bourgeois revolutionaries in Austria at the time.  The Austrian royalty weren’t pleased (nor was dad, a pro-aristocracy guy).

 

Eventually, though, dad died of scarlet fever and Johann II took over his orchestra.  Junior eventually surpassed his father in popularity and influence.  In fact, Wagner and Richard Strauss were admirers.

 

A Strauss family ‘trademark’ was the “Vorgeiger” tradition of conducting with a violin in his hand.  Apparently the whole family did it, and some conductors who are Strauss enthusiasts still do it when playing his works.

 

(C) The Waltz

What is a waltz?  A waltz is a piece of music dance done in triple meter – that is, in 3/4 time (or sometimes 3/8 or 6/8), with the emphasis on the first note (one two three – one two three).  Kinda like a polka, but with more dignity and less lederhosen.  While the waltz can be danced to, it’s not always composed as a dance.

 

The waltz first became fashionable in Vienna in the 1780s, and spread to other countries.  Then Johann II came along and turned it into an art form.

 

Some pop waltzes, for your reference, are “Three Times A Lady” by the Commodores, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Simply Red, and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin.  Also, Danny Elfman likes using the waltz, and did so in his soundtracks to the Batman and Spider-Man movies.

 

And now, a word about dancing.  The waltz is a partner dance in “closed position”: you and your partner hold each other and are facing each other.  The lead dancer’s right hand is on the follower’s back somewhere (no, not on the ass, lest you want a smack).  The follower’s left hand is on the lead’s right shoulder.  The other hands are clasped together.  Once you’ve assumed the position, you twirl around the dance floor.

 

The waltz became the template on which many other ballroom dances were based.  So, depending on whether or not you like ballroom dancing, you can thank or blame the waltz (and Johann Strauss the Second) for it.

 

(D) Johan Strauss II’s Waltzes

 

An der schonen, blauen Donau (The Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314

This is the music that accompanies Kubrick’s sci-fi-riffic docking sequence.  It was also used in an old cartoon with quacking ducks.  I prefer to remember it as the former.  The way it sways is fantastic.

 

It’s one of the most frequently played and recognized pieces of classical music – in fact, it’s the unofficial national anthem of Austria.

 

The main riff from this waltz is also used in Johan’s waltz Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods), Op. 325.  In fact, a lot of Blue Danube is used in Vienna Woods.  Maybe Johan meant there to be some thematic consistency between the two waltz about geographic locations near Vienna.

 

Wein, Weib und Gesang (Wine, Women and Song) Op. 333

What a great title!  Apparently, the melody is quintessentially Viennese.  I can’t really tell how or why, though.

 

Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Op. 410

When Johan wrote this he intended for part of it to be sung – a waltz with solo voice accompaniment.  In fact, it seems Johan wrote a bunch of waltzes with voice, but all I can find are the instrumental versions.  I wonder why?

 

I’ve heard this one!  It’s a jaunty, happily swinging piece, much like the Blue Danube waltz.

 

Kaiser Walzer (Emperor Waltz), Op. 437

Strauss wrote this to commemorate a visit between the Austrian and German heads of state.  I thought Strauss was a rabble-rouser?  You sold out, man.

 

It starts out quietly enough but quickly gets into some stately, almost martial, music.  The main theme is pretty well-known, as even I’ve heard it.

 

(D) Commentary

I’d have to say the Blue Danube is my favourite of these.  There’s a reason why it’s so popular – it’s a great song.  However, I can take two, maybe three, waltzes in a row at the most.  All that oom-pa-pa oom-pa-pa really starts to get on my nerves.

 

I could watch the docking sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey all day, though.  What can I say, I’m a geek.  Maybe I’ll just stick to an occasional movie rental to get my waltz fix – if I ever start jonesing for waltzes in the first place.

 

(E) What I’ve Learned

 

-Johan and Richard Strauss weren’t related.

-Johan II was the greatest Waltz King, who had a troubled relationship with his father and authority in general.  It sounds like he really had to struggle to find his own voice, and I can sympathize with that.