Search - Johann II [Junior] Strauss, Antonin Dvorak, Quatuor Alcan :: Waltzes (transcriptions: Berg, Webern & Schönberg) & Bagatelles

One cannot think of Strauss without bringing to mind the city of Vienna and elegant couples dancing the waltz. Popular imagery -- picturesque, although not fully accurate -- has handed down to us a vision of the Viennese as being by nature serene and simple people, gifted with an unshakeable love of life and all its pleasures. Music, of course, is at the very centre of their existence -- much more than a simple distraction, it is an integral part of their daily lives. Yet, ironically, the waltz did not originate in Vienna. It seems, rather, that the distinctive dance in three quarter time has its origins in the popular folk dances of the Black Forest and the Upper Rhine