the waltz

Rehearsal date: 01/22/15
Orchestra: CYO
Repertoire rehearsed: Blue Danube

Sorry for the late post. I had a performance on Saturday and an opera rehearsal on Sunday so my weekend didn't happen.]

Anyway, this new piece is one of the classics of the Classical music. And rightfully so, with it's super memorable, and delightful melodies. All of those waltzes have just the right amount of charm, and the perfect amount of drama. It is not all about blank smiles, but with just enough amount of realism and passion, those light, and pleasant melodies become so much more sincere. And the more sincere they are, the more beautiful to our ears.

I always feel that Johann Strauss Jr. is such an underrated composer. Yes, his music is not "serious" like Brahms or Tchaikovsky or others during the same time period, but he was decidedly a composer of waltz, which was a dance music for the rich people (how serious can dance music be before our feet stops stepping and our brains start turning?). And he was AMAZING, and ground breaking with what he did in that genre. He gave waltz as mush care and polish, and possessed just as much craftsmanship as any of the other "serious" composers brought to their symphonies and chamber music, and overtures. It is just so unfortunate that just because of the genre he has chosen to write in, he and his compositional skill is also taken lightly. In my book, he is just as creative and skilled as any of the legendary figures of the time, and that was the Golden Age of classical music in my opinion (19th century).

By the way, just so there is no confusion, Johann Strauss Jr. was NOT the son of Richard Strauss. I hear people being confused with them all the time. Richard Strauss was a composer of early to mid 20th century, and Johann Strauss Jr. was from mid to late 19th century. So there's about a hundred years in between them, and the Jr. is the more senior :)