# Favorite Russian Waltzes



## Jordan Workman (May 9, 2016)

What are your favorite Russian waltzes?


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

My favorite Soviet waltz:


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

was a redundant post


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Tchaikovsky - Waltz of the Flowers (Nutcraker)

Arensky - Waltz, Suite no. 1, op. 15 for Two Pianos*





*Duo of Harold Bauer and Ossip Gabrilowitsch made a justly famous recording but it's not the only possibility.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

hammeredklavier said:


> My favorite Soviet waltz:


Or the orchestra version:






It's like the melody is left hanging after the third phrase pair, answered only by mysterious pizzicato strings. What's THAT all about?


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Tchaikovsky is the Beethoven of waltzes, but they are all very well known, so how about this one?






09:04 "Waltz No. 1" of origin unknown to me.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Yes, the Shosty one is good; there's also Khachaturian's from "Masquerade":


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Probably The Waltz of the Flowers, but my favorite Russian other dance is the Polonaise from the Polish act of Boris Godunov.


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## level82rat (Jun 20, 2019)

*On the Hills of Manchuria* is one of my favorites; it is both pretty and melancholy and haunting.


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## Geoff48 (Aug 15, 2020)

What about Glinka Valse Fantasie. Or Tchaikovsky and the waltz from Serenade for Strings or even Symphony 5. And if you are prepared to accept 5/4 as a lopsided waltz the second movement of the Pathetique.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Waltzes are OK but I prefer it when Russians appropriate other Slavic stuff, such as polkas (Glinka) and mazurkas (Skryabin).


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Jordan Workman said:


> What are your favorite Russian waltzes?


Tchaikovsky- Waltz from "Swan Lake" - get Solti/CSO....RIP-roaring, thrilling!!


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Fabulin said:


> Tchaikovsky is the Beethoven of waltzes, but they are all very well known, so how about this one?
> 09:04 "Waltz No. 1" of origin unknown to me.


This is the solution --
Waltz No. 2 is the same piece as: 
Waltz No. 2, Jazz Suite No. 2, which is the same piece as:
Waltz No. 2, Suite for Variety Orchestra

Waltz No. 1 is the same piece as: 
Waltz No. 1, Jazz Suite No. 2, which is the same piece as:
Waltz No. 1, Suite for Variety Orchestra

If TalkClassical gave a poll on Most Confusing Titles this might win. I am making a collection of them ...


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Geoff48 said:


> And if you are prepared to accept 5/4 as a lopsided waltz the second movement of the Pathetique.


Like all these choices! Yes the Pathétique second movement is a waltz. I've read that there were other 5/4 waltzes but have never been able to find one.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

We have overlooked Prokofiev; I trust that we agree he should be mentioned. The waltz from his opera _War and Peace_ is attractive. But the Grand Waltz (At the Palace) from the ballet _Cinderella_ is something else altogether, a ... S-T-R-E-T-C-H! It covers such a wide range, the tonal structure seems at the verge of collapse, the whole is at the edge of sanity. I like it.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Also Scriabin's lovely op.38


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

joen_cph said:


> Also Scriabin's lovely op.38


The artistry in Bashkirov's interpretation is stunning -- colours, senses of flow and hesitation, gradual-to-abrupt changes in articulation and texture. Thanks for introducing me to this extraordinary waltz by Scriabin.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Roger Knox said:


> This is the solution --
> Waltz No. 2 is the same piece as:
> Waltz No. 2, Jazz Suite No. 2, which is the same piece as:
> Waltz No. 2, Suite for Variety Orchestra
> ...


No, that's not what I meant. I meant that I don't know what Shostakovich work was it originally a part of, _before _being adapted into the SFVO.

Anyway, here is another one. A mourning piece (1906) commemorating the meaningless slaughter of Russian conscripts on the hills of Manchuria.






Shostakovich's most famous waltz has been written for a film about a colony in the desolate Soviet Far East, and might have been inspired by this one.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Fabulin said:


> No, that's not what I meant. I meant that I don't know what Shostakovich work was it originally a part of, _before _being adapted into the SFVO.


Sorry that I misunderstood what you were looking for. I just checked Wikipedia and it didn't identify any prior source for the waltz. My general understanding has been that Shostakovich was required to provide this kind of music, for the SFVO or equivalent groups, that appealed to popular taste. He wasn't happy about it -- thus some satirical touches. But I haven't researched the subject and can't tell you where I read that.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Roger Knox said:


> Sorry that I misunderstood what you were looking for. I just checked Wikipedia and it didn't identify any prior source for the waltz. My general understanding has been that Shostakovich was required to provide this kind of music, for the SFVO or equivalent groups, that appealed to popular taste. He wasn't happy about it -- thus some satirical touches. But I haven't researched the subject and can't tell you where I read that.


Why do you think he wasn't happy about it? Shostakovich always liked jazz, waltzes, operettas, and so on.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Alexander Glazunov
*Grand Concert Waltz in E flat major, Op. 41 (1893)
Leslie Howard: pianist.


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