Album insights
The lively form of the waltz we know today originated from the turning dance and the Ländler, two rustic peasant dances from Germany and Austria. Classical composers in the late 1770s started creating more elaborate versions of this music by replacing the three equally strong beats per measure with a strong first beat followed by two weaker beats. The waltz reached its first peak in the early 18th century through Schubert, sparking a wave of dance enthusiasm across European ballrooms with his form of catchy melodies over a simple accompaniment and the lightness of the rhythm.
In the early 19th century, Warsaw embraced the waltz. As a young man, Chopin was likely familiar with the piano waltzes of Polish composers such as Maria Szymanowska, Kurpinski, Dobrzynski, and Stefani. Concerning the piano, Weber's groundbreaking Invitation to the Dance (1819) set a precedent. Chopin composed his initial waltzes in 1829, amidst the waltzes of Joseph Lanner and Johann Strauss Sr. A year later, Chopin left Poland, residing in the waltz-rich Vienna before settling in Paris. It's paradoxical that most of his 20 waltzes, influenced by French elements, bear little resemblance to the Viennese waltzes of Lanner and Strauss.
Only eight of Chopin's 20 waltzes were printed during his lifetime. The two op. 69 waltzes, three op. 70 waltzes, plus six of seven early waltzes without opus numbers were all published posthumously. Noteworthy among these are the poetic op. 69 No. 2 in B minor and the op. 70 No. 3 in D-flat major, inspired by Konstancja Gladkowska and composed by Chopin "early one morning" (October 3, 1829). Among the posthumous waltzes that have been preserved, gratitude is owed especially to the brilliant E minor waltz (1830). Like the Fantaisie-Impromptu op. 66, it remains a mystery how Chopin could have overlooked it, as it possesses all the hallmarks of a mature work with its virtuosic introduction and coda along with spirited themes.
Chopin's first waltz intended for publication was the Grande valse brillante in E-flat major, composed in 1830 in Vienna as op. 18. Unlike others, this piece is danceable, evidenced by its inclusion in Les Sylphides. The mature waltzes are generally regarded as more "dance-poems." Opus 18 sets a high standard previewing the seven subsequent waltzes, distinct from the commercial productions of the time tailored for publishers and amateur pianists alike (although most Chopin waltzes don't overwhelm the skilled amateur).
Schumann praised the three op. 34 waltzes of 1838 for their unmatched quality, noting they "seem improvised on the dance floor." No. 1 in A-flat major recalls elements from op. 18, while the mournful No. 2 in A minor begins with a melancholic cello melody, cherished by Chopin himself; the noteworthy features of No. 3 in F major include Moto-perpetuo passages, hemiolas in the outer sections, and suggestions in the central section. According to Chopin, the A-flat major op. 42 waltz, emerging from the eight-bar trill, should evoke a music box, played by Chopin with intense rubato, maintaining a strict rhythm in what he likened to a garland weaving through dancing pairs.
The final set of waltzes, op. 64 from 1847, initiates with the D-flat major waltz known as the "Minute Waltz," one of the foremost pieces in piano literature. Its overused nickname shouldn't detract from its successful proportions and inventiveness (playing it in a minute is musically unreasonable). Following these contrasting masterpieces are the C-sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2 with themes of love and pain, a lively quarter section akin to op. 42, and a delicate nocturne-like theme in D-flat major. This is succeeded by a less acknowledged A-flat major waltz, exuding graceful, suggestive themes full of nostalgic wistfulness.
To culminate this CD, Garrick Ohlsson performs four short and relatively insignificant dance miniatures, all posthumously published: The Contredanse in G major appeared in print in 1943, while the three Ecossaises op. 72 No. 3 (D major, G major, and D-flat major) date back to 1826. The Écossaise, originally a Scottish dance in simple duple time, had captured the attention of Beethoven and Schubert previously.