The Waltz VII: The Waltz Heads East

As Dvorak's interest in the form tells us, the Slavs certainly took to the waltz, generally speaking. It's right to speak generally because a composer like Smetana didn't concern himself (as far as I can see) with the waltz at all, preferring more specifically Czech forms of dance. 

Mikhail Glinka set the ball rolling in Russia, as he so often did. His Valse-Fantasie in B major of 1856 is one of his best orchestral pieces and has a very Russian-sounding main melody allied to the traditional rhythms of the Central European waltz and to more general-sounding waltz tunes. 

You can hear the origins of certain strains of Tchaikovsky's music in Glinka's Valse-Fantasie. Besides the great symphonic waltzes described in an earlier post, Tchaikovsky's output is full of delicious waltzes, making him one of the greatest of all waltz kings. His first surviving work was a waltz - the Anastasie-Valse of 1854. The rest of his output for piano brings such things as the Valse caprice, Op.4, the Valse-Scherzo No.1, Op.7, the Valse in A flat major, Op.40/8 (played in the link by Rachmaninov no less) and the Valse in F sharp minor, Op.40/9, the Valse from Album for the Young, Op.39, the Valse de salon Op.51/1 and Valse sentimentale, Op.51/6, not to mention the Valse bluette, Op.72/11, the Valse à cinq temps, Op.72/16 and December from The Seasons. You will almost certain also enjoy the Valse-Scherzo, Op.34 for violin and orchestra from 1877. I think it's fair to s, ay that none of these waltzes quite matches the delights provided by the second movement of the much-loved Serenade for Strings, Op.48. The second movement of the Second Orchestral Suite, Op.53 and the second movement of the Third Orchestral Suite, Op.55 are both (in their different ways) enchanting, and the Second Act of his masterly opera Eugene Onegin contains a waltz straight out of the composer's top drawer. Of course, the three great ballets give us some of Tchaikovsky's finest waltzes - and what waltzes they are! From Swan Lake comes this from Act I and this from Act II. From Sleeping Beauty comes the Garland Waltz. Finally, from The Nutcracker comes the Waltz of the Flowers and the Waltz of the Snowflakes. Everyone loves the Waltz of the Flowers but many a critic has a real downer on the Waltz of the Snowflakes. I've seen it described as "gormless". Call me a man of bad taste, but I've always had a real soft spot for it. All together now: "AH, AH, ah-ah, AH"!

A composer sometimes maligned (or, in some works, fairly described) as producing 'watered-down Tchaikovsky', Anton Arensky, produced one of the best of all Russian waltzes - the Valse from his Suite No.1, Op.15 for two pianos - a number that combines considerable brilliance of technique and elegance of invention with a first-rate tune, which comes around and is decorated and dissolved again and again. 

Alexander Glazunov's Concert Waltz No.1 has more than a little of Tchaikovsky's waltzing spirit about it and, unsurprising, this beautifully-scored and melodically enticing slice of Tchaikovsky-style orchestral writing has become one of its composer's most played pieces. One success is, understandably, likely to make a composer try again and hope for a second success. His Concert Waltz No.2 isn't really in the same league as its predecessor but it is far from unattractive.  His loveable ballet The Seasons contains another endearing waltz, the Waltz of the Cornflowers and Poppies, and his other popular ballet, Raymonda, contains waltzes like the Valse fantastique and the Grand Waltz.

I'm saving one the best of Sergei Rachmaninov's waltz-inspired pieces for another post, but there are other gems from his pen that will slot in nicely here. There's a charming Valse and Romance for six hands (piano) from 1890-1, the Valse from the solo Morceaux de salon, Op.10 the excellent Valse from the Six Morceaux, Op.11 for piano duet and the Valse from the Suite No.2, Op.17.

Yes, the Russians write good waltzes. That was to continue into the Twentieth Century, though two of its most pioneering figures weren't really waltz kings.

Alexander Scriabin pretty much began composing by writing waltzes. His Valse in F minor, Op.1 was composed at the age of 13. He didn't sustain that interest, however, and later efforts, like the Waltz in A flat major, Op.38, though entertaining, seems out-of-place and old-fashioned in the context of everything else he was writing at that time.

We've already encountered Igor Stravinsky's Lanner appropriations for his Petruskha waltz. His other waltzes are similarly distanced in tone, such as the Waltz (beginning at 1.46) from The Soldier's Tale, the deliciously mechanical-sounding yet wacky Waltz (beginning at 1.31) from the Three Easy Pieces (a little gem) and the somewhat similar Valse pour les enfants.

The lack of Romanticism in Stravinsky's waltzes is hardly surprising. Shostakovich's waltzes are hardly likely to sound like Glazunov either, though they are bound to be a bit warmer. We've already met his less than straight symphonic take on the waltz and now it's time to introduce his popular waltzes from the feel-good Jazz Suites. If you click on any on the following numbers it will bear you hot-foot to a Shostakovich waltz - one of which is particularly well-loved. (How teasing of me!): 1, 2, 3, 4. The first three are somewhat cut from the same cloth, aren't they? It's a cloth it's fun to have pieces cut from though! The charm of the fourth is rather different, and it leads me on to the Waltz-Scherzo from The Bolt via the Ballet Suites - a top-notch piece of light music that does seem to have a little Tchaikovsky (and something of Petrushka) about it. If you don't know this Waltz-Scherzo, I strongly recommend it to you. It might make your day. The other waltzes from the Ballet Suites are the Waltz from The Human Comedy and the Waltz from The Limpid Stream. Such enjoyable music! (The complete Jazz and Ballet Suites can be relished here - and should be, if you want to give yourself an hour or so of non-stop fun).

Prokofiev's waltzes are just as tasty. Who could resist Since We Met from War and Peace? Prokofiev arranged the same number for piano, here played by Richter. Fabulous in either version. Another waltz from the opera may be enjoyed here and more Richter, this time playing the Grand Waltz from the ballet Cinderella, really ought to be listened to here. The utterly magical orchestral version of this waltz is available here - music so good it brings a lump to my throat. This version even has a slow introduction to match any by the Strausses for sheer enchantment. This is one of my favourite pieces of music. The other waltz from Cinderella brings another glorious tune.  As these four waltzes (in their various incarnations) demonstrate, Prokofiev is one of the supreme masters of waltz. Less familiar - and less special - are the two Pushkin waltzes, written to mark the poet's 150th anniversary in 1949. Less special, but still likeable. There's one more waltz-gem by Prokofiev but, as with that special piece by Rachmaninov, I want to save it for another post.

Alfred Schnittke wrote music for a TV programme called The Waltz. I've no knowledge as to whether the programme was about the waltz or not, though the movements (1.Building plot, 2.Coach, 3.Factory & 4.Vovka) suggest possibly not. You'll recognise a borrowed tune from a certain Viennese waltz composer (now who could that be?) though. The score is rather dream-like (nightmarish at times). It seems to be written in much the same spirit as Rodion Shchedrin's contemporary Carmen Suite. It's a fascinating find. Mysterious and sinister waltzes about in Schnittke's music - numbers like the waltz from The Story of an Unknown Actor (like a creepy take on a Shostakovich 'jazz'-waltz) or the rather obsessive waltz from Clowns and Children or the grotesque waltzes The Portrait and The Ball from the Gogol Suite. Aren't they all excellent? The Tempo di Valse movement from his great Piano Quintet offers another of these hallucinatory visions...

....and it's to the sinister side of the waltz that I will be turning next. Do you smell the sulphur yet?

Arensky: Undiluted pleasure?

I'm going to follow in tradition here and preface a piece about Russian Romantic composer Anton Arensky (1861-1906) with this quote from Rimsky-Korsakov: "He'll quickly be forgotten". Almost every time his music gets played on the radio or a CD of his works is reviewed in a classical music magazine that quote gets trotted out. Given that, over a hundred years after his death, Arensky's music is still being played on the radio and CDs of his works are still being bought on Amazon, it might be time to say that Rimsky-Korsakov was not in fact correct!!

The point though behind this never-ending quoting of Rimsky's damning verdict is that a lot of critics share his view that Arensky isn't a great composer, or even a particularly good one. Tchaikovsky, however, disagreed and found him "remarkably gifted". I've listened to as much Arensky as possible and would say that I'm fond of a lot of his music, some of which is undeniably the product of a gifted composer - though not much of it could be said to be that of a great composer. 

The nearest he gets to greatness, as far as I'm concerned, is in his chamber works. For me his finest piece is the String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.35. The first thing to say is that this is a string quartet with a difference, in that it's scored for violin, viola and two cellos. This gives it a somewhat darker sound. The spur for the work was the death of Tchaikovsky and the central movement is a set of variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky, that of his touching choral Legend. The movement was then orchestrated and has become the nearest thing Arensky has to a worldwide hit piece. 

The Quartet's opening Moderato begins, as befits a work written in memoriam, with a lamenting introduction in the style of Russian Orthodox chant. The lead theme of the first movement's main section is also elegiac and has a winning lyricism which soon finds itself singing in the midst of passionate grief and then yields to an artfully-wrought second subject which sets a gentle, Tchaikovsky-like melody (in the major) that seems to partake of Russia's romance tradition against a chanting theme on cello. The pace quickens as this gratifying exposition comes to a close. In his development section, Arensky broods on the opening four notes of the main theme - setting them against tremolos, re-lyricising them and then agitating them into a climax. The introductory chant returns and the recapitulation (where the composer keeps things fresh) follows on closely. The coda continues to mingle brooding on the main theme with the lamenting chant of the introduction. I'd certainly say that this movement is an excellent piece of chamber music and one that shows that even composers generally considered 'minor' ones can still come up with first-rate pieces. 

As for those central variations on Tchaikovsky's melancholy tune, Variation I adds consoling imitations to the theme, while Variation II encases it in a frisky scherzo. Variation III, rightly marked 'Tranquillo', changes the theme into the major and warms it with romantic figuration. Variation IV is full of playful pizzicati and has a chromatic flavouring. Variation V is lovely, graceful and romantic. Variation VI is lively ('con spirito') and 'neo-Classical' in the manner of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. The theme then returns in its original form, riding on this deliciously springy figuration. Variation VII varies the theme most, reshaping it into a sweet and delicately-winning thing over a charming, sighing accompaniment. The coda begins with magical harmonics and, atmospherically, brings this piece back to the melancholy mood of its opening (quoting the lamenting chant of the first movement). Again, first-rate music, isn't it?

What of the Finale? After a short chant-based Andante introduction and its concluding elegiac phrases comes a vigorous fugue on a melody (the 'Slava' theme) used famously to acclaim the coronation of Boris Godunov in Mussorgsky's opera. Arensky puts it through its paces enjoyably, presumably as an acclamation of Tchaikovsky. When this ends, the melancholy of the introduction is recalled but the 'Slava' theme rides back in brilliantly to bring the whole quartet to a satisfying and triumphant close. Another excellent movement.

If you liked that you are also likely to enjoy the Arensky Piano Trio No.1 in D minor. which should appeal to anyone who appreciates either Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn or Schumann. 

The opening Allegro moderato has an especially lovely main subject - a lyrical melody first sung by the violin over a rippling accompaniment. It makes for a captivating opening. Though a lyrical tune it has parts that are easy to cut off and paste into passages of development. The second subject is cut from similarly lyrical cloth though its ardour is of a gentler and more wistful kind. The development section begins by making patterns from the principle 'motif', then starts overlapping it with itself, modulating it through various sequences (and Arensky was fond of sequences) and recasting it in major-key stardust (Arensky was also one for pianistic stardust) before building it to a stormy climax. It's not overly deep but it's persuasive nonetheless. The recapitulation is fairly straightforward while the coda revisits earlier ground in a spirit of agreeable nostalgia. 

Arensky opts for a Scherzo next. Fast repeated notes, trills, scales and pizzicato writing add extra sparkle to its giddy main section while its Trio section takes the form of a sweet and cheerful duet for the violin and cello over a lilting-in-heavy-boots accompaniment from the piano. This is the sort of good-natured, glittering music that gets composers a reputation for superficiality among certain more serious-minded critics - the sort of critics who don't appreciate Saint-Saëns either. They should lighten up!

A lovely slow movement follows. As its title Elegy would lead you to expect, this is full of sweet sigh and sobs, and has a beautiful main theme. For the sake of contrast comes a central section where a single theme or 'motif' (rather than a melody) is mined through sequential repetition and modulation. Here Arensky casts his middle section in the major-key and scores it gorgeously. When the main section returns the beautiful tune is set against a warm new counter-melody before the initial mood returns and the movement ends as it began.

The Finale doesn't strike me as being as distinguished as its companions. Although the main theme has plenty of fire, Arensky occasionally loses his way in the linking passages and his material (especially the second subject) is less melodically attractive. The movement is one of those Romantic pieces where themes from earlier movements are brought back to wrap things up tidily. Here the Elegy's cheery contrasting idea and the Trio's opening theme return before the Finale's own fiery theme dashes us to the end.

If you want to get a sense of the side of Arensky that Rimsky-Korsakov probably had in mind, then please try one of his four suites for two pianos - music where the elegant charm of the salon is heard. 

The Suite No. 1 in F major, Op. 15 is a characteristic example of his consummately-crafted light music. The opening Romance flutters around a four-note motif (a 'wobble' on a major second), throwing off a couple of pleasant if not particularly memorable melodies in the process. The central Valse has the best tune of the suite - and Arensky plugs away at it throughout the movement. The closing Polonaise has a certain flair and a tune that is also memorable (if straight from central casting). I must say, pleasant though it is, that the Suite isn't the sort of piece that leaves a great impression on me and, yes, the old insult that Arensky sounds like Tchaikovsky-plus-water certainly seems to hold water here. It sounds to me like Tchaikovsky ballet music on an off day, transcribed for pianos and sprinkled in glitter.

Still, as you hopefully heard when listening to the Piano Trio and the String Quartet, Arensky is well worth remembering for some things. Yes, he's no Tchaikovsky - but then who (besides the great man himself) is?