長岡市立劇場 大ホールコンサート

ヨハン･シュトラウス2世
ワルツ「美しく青きドナウ
op. 314 (1867)

What prompted Johann Strauss to choose ‘By the beautiful, blue Danube‘ as the title of his composition? Was it the regulation of the river Danube that was being planned at the time? Or the poems by Karl Beck in which the phrase appears? Had Strauss been planning a waltz with such a title for some time, or did this thought not come to him until he was reminded by the Vienna Men’s Choral Society of the promise he had once made to compose a work dedicated to them?

Be that as it may, The Blue Danube is, apart from a student exercise, Strauss’s first composition for voices. Did he draw on the advice and support of the choirmaster of the Society, Rudolf Weinwurm, when it came to the vocal parts? There is a great deal that we do not know. On the other hand it has been definitively established that the first performance was given on 15 February 1867, with Weinwurm conducting, at an ‘Evening of Songs for Carnival‘ held in the hall of the Dianabad establishment in Vienna, and that, despite later commentaries to the contrary, the waltz received glowing reviews. The orchestral version of The Blue Danube was first heard at the Carnival Review concert at the Volksgarten establishment on 10 March 1867, with the composer conducting in person. The first edition for piano had already been published on the day of the first performance, which was rather unusual practice at that time. The demand for the waltz must have been enormous, because it is more or less impossible to say just how many times it was reprinted by C.A. Spina, the original publisher, within a very short time. Foreign editions, arrangements for all widely played instruments and combinations of them, highly virtuoso paraphrases, and passages from the waltz quoted in the works of other composers and those of Strauss himself: these all bear witness to the enormous popularity of The Blue Danube.

Moreover, Eduard Hanslick, the high priest of critics, attested the work a ‘quite remarkable significance […] the significance of a quotation, of a phrase summing up everything there is in Vienna that is beautiful, lovable and gay. […] Alongside the national anthem composed by Papa Haydn, which celebrates the emperor and the imperial family, we have in Strauss’s Blue Danube a second national anthem which sings of our country and people.’

Synopsis: Dr. Thomas Aigner

Translation: Dr. Leigh H. Bailey

Johann Strauss (Sohn) : An der schönen blauen Donau / Walzer op. 314
© by «Kulturverein Wiener Blut»

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金曜日, 1月 11 201919.00 Uhr
長岡市 ⁄ 市立劇場

長岡市立劇場大ホールコンサート
36日本ツアー

ヨハネス･ヴィルトナー 指揮者

Programm
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 喜歌劇「こうもり」序曲
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : ポルカ・シュネル『そんなに怖がることはない』 op. 413
ヨーゼフシュトラウス : ディナミーデン op. 173
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 女性賛美 op. 315
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : ポルカ「浮気心」 op. 319
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : ワルツ「皇帝円舞曲」 op. 437
Pause ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 山賊のギャロップ op. 378
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 南国のバラワルツ op. 388
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : エジプト行進曲 op. 335
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 狂乱のポルカ op. 260
ヨーゼフシュトラウス : 鍛冶屋のポルカ op. 269
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : 狩り op. 373
ヨハン･シュトラウス2世 : ワルツ「美しく青きドナウ op. 314

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