Sound Off

This week on the Symphonic Hits series, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is visiting one of my favorite works, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.  This work consists of three independent movements all of which center on dance rhythms.  In fact, Rachmaninoff even envisioned it being transformed into a ballet.  The central movement, and to me the most haunting and beautiful, is a Waltz, and this got me thinking about the lengthy history of Waltzes in orchestral music.  

The Waltz itself can be traced back to well before the turn of the 19th century, but its rise in popularity began after 1800, hitting its peak in the mid to late 19th century (the time Johann Strauss Jr. was writing the Blue Danube Waltz).  As the Waltz gained popularity, it began to be incorporated into the concert hall.  Possibly the first Symphonic Waltz is the second movement of Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique.
 

Listening to this music I am transported into a ball room and can see dancers twirling about the floor.  Throughout the century many composers used waltzes in this manner, evoking balls and parties as does Tchaikovsky in his 5th symphony.

By the turn of the 20th century, things were changing both in the nature of classical music, as Romanticism waned, and in the world, where the old order crumbled away into the new.   If you happen to be one of the millions addicted to PBS's Downton Abbey, you have been watching this very thing as the British aristocracy faces the new world.  It was a traumatic time, and many people were slow to let go of conventions, but the march of progress couldn't be stopped.  Therefore composers often used waltzes in their symphonies, but they have a different effect.   They no longer are joyful, but instead evoke memories of the past like Mahler's use of the Waltz in his fifth or ninth symphonies, or Ravel's La Valse where a traditional sounding waltz slowly goes out of control.

Finally we get to possibly the last major Symphonic Waltz, the 2nd movement of this weekend's Symphonic Dances.  It is haunting and full of longing for the past.  It is no more the vital dance of Berlioz, but nostalgia for a better or at least different time.  The Waltz proper starts around 1:55 in this video.  

These are just a few of the many examples.  Let us know your favorite Symphonic Waltz, and head down to the Hilbert Circle Theater for Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances this weekend.