THE WALTZ: ITS PERVASIVENESS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, AND ITS TRANSFORMATION INTO A SYMBOL OF THE BIEDERMEIERZEIT IN THE WORKS
OF JOSEPH LANNER, JOHANN STRAUSS, AND FRANZ SCHUBERT
B. Mus., The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1976
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
i n
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Department of Music
We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming
to the req u i r e d standard
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
c)Joyce Simpson-Candelaria, 1982
by
JOYCE SIMPSON-CANDELARIA
May 1982
In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. I t i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission.
Department of Music
The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3
D a t e A p r i l 2 6 , 1.98?
DE-6 (3/81)
ABSTRACT
T h i s t h e s i s d o c u m e n t s t h e p r e v a l e n c e o f t h e w a l t z
i n t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , e x a m i n i n g
t h e c u l t u r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f i t s g e n e r a l p o p u l a r i t y and
i t s m a n i f e s t a t i o n s i n t h e w o r k s o f J o s e p h L a n n e r , J o h a n n
S t r a u s s , S r . , and F r a n z S c h u b e r t . T h i s s t u d y c o n t e n d s
t h a t t h e w a l t z was a r e f i n e m e n t o f t h e d a n c e commonly
known as t h e L H n d l e r and t h a t t h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n was
•the r e s u l t o f t h e c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n o f t h e t r a d i t i o n s o f
c a s u a l t a v e r n and o u t d o o r e n t e r t a i n m e n t , a n d t h e c o n s e
q u e n t a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e w a l t z i n t o t h e u p p e r e c h e l o n s
o f s o c i e t y . T h e t h e s i s c o n c l u d e s t h a t t h e a s c e n d a n c y o f
t h e w a l t z p a r a l l e l e d t h e p o l i t i c a l a s c e n d a n c y o f t h e
b o u r g e o i s i e , and t h a t t h e w a l t z i s more s p e c i f i c a l l y a
p o t e n t s y m b o l o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t i n A u s t r i a , w i t h
L a n n e r and S t r a u s s r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e p u b l i c f a c e o f t h e
B i e d e r m e i e r t e m p e r a m e n t and S c h u b e r t t h e p r i v a t e f a c e .
i i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter I DANCE AS SYMBOLIC GESTURE 5
A. The Minuet: I t s C u l t u r a l S i g n i f i c a n c e and i t s D e c l i ne 5
B. The Waltz: I t s C u l t u r a l S i g n i f i c a n c e 8
I I THE POPULARIZATION OF THE WALTZ 14
A. Etymology 14 B. The E v o l u t i o n of the P o p u l a r i t y of the Waltz . . . 17
1. From R u r a l O r i g i n s to the A u s t r i a n Court . . . 17 2. From the Casual to the Commercial: The
Viennese Waltz 19 3. The D i f f u s i o n of the Waltz i n t o " S e r i o u s " Works
w i t h P a r t i c u l a r Reference to Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and F r e d e r i c Chopin . . . . 21
C. Conclusion 34
I I I THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE WALTZ 36
General I n t r o d u c t i o n 36 P a r t I : From the Landler to the Waltz i n the Works
of Joseph Lanner, Johann Strauss, and Franz Schubert 40
A. The Landler: I t s Gestures and i t s Music 40
B. The Waltz: I t s Gestures and i t s Music . . 44 C. Conclusion 64
Par t I I : The Transformation of the Waltz as a R e f l e c t i o n of the Biedermeier Z e i t g e i s t 65
I n t r o d u c t i o n 65 A. The Bi e d e r m e i e r z e i t 66 B. The Symbolic S i g n i f i c a n c e of the Waltz . . 71
1. The P u b l i c Face of the Waltz: Joseph Lanner and Johann Strauss . . . 71
2. The P r i v a t e Face of the Waltz: Franz Schubert 78
i i i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I g r a t e f u l l y a c know ledge t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f my s u p e r v i s o r
D r . D i m i t r i Conomos i n t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f t h i s s t u d y . I w i s h
a l s o t o t h a n k my p a r e n t s George and t h e l a t e L i l l i a n Gee f o r
f o s t e r i n g my m u s i c a l i n t e r e s t s , and l a s t b u t n o t l e a s t my
husband D r . F r e d C a n d e l a r i a whose encou ragement , a d v i c e , and
f o r e b e a r a n c e saw me t h r o u g h t h i s t h e s i s .
v
INTRODUCTION
The aim of t h i s study i s to examine the waltz as a c u l t u r a l symbol
of the B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t , a term used to describe A u s t r i a during the f i r s t
h a l f of the nineteenth century. This i s the p e r i o d i s which the Landler
was transformed i n t o the Viennese w a l t z . In underscoring t h i s t r a n s
formation, we w i l l show that i n i t s pervasiveness the w a l t z , p e n e t r a t i n g
as i t d i d the t e x t u r e s of a l l genres of s e r i o u s music, was more than
j u s t the epitome of popular entertainment.
Although t h i s dance was widely e x p l o i t e d , because of the necessary
l i m i t a t i o n s of the scope of t h i s study, we w i l l be confined to a c o n s i d e r
a t i o n of i n s t r u m e n t a l works only. We w i l l f u r t h e r r e s t r i c t our focus to
those composers who, i n the f i r s t h a l f of the nineteenth century, turned
more r e a d i l y than any others to the w a l t z : Franz Schubert, Robert
Schumann, and F r e d e r i c Chopin. For a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the transforma
t i o n s of the waltz we w i l l look to the o r c h e s t r a l waltzes of Joseph Lanner
and Johann Strauss, and the piano waltzes of Franz Schubert, as these
works are g e n e r a l l y considered to be the c h i e f musical r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of
Biedermeier Vienna.
The s c h o l a r s h i p r e l a t e d to the waltz i s not extensive. Though
important s t u d i e s of t h i s genre do e x i s t , they do not deal w i t h i t along
the l i n e s pursued i n t h i s essay. The most recent book on the w a l t z ,
A l f r e d Stenger's Studien zur Geschichte des K l a v i e r w a l z e r s , published
i n 1978, g e n e r a l l y sums up the s t a t e of s c h o l a r s h i p on the w a l t z :
1
2
D i e b i s h e r n u r b e i l a u f i g e Behand lung des W a l z e r s i n d e r m u s i k -w i s s e n s c h a f t l i c h e n L i t e r a t u r i s t s y m p t o m a t i s c h f u r das gesamte P u b l i k a t i o n s b i l d h i n s i c h t l i c h d e r t a n z e r i s c h e n K l e i n f o r m e n . L e d i g l i c h d i e umfas sende D a r s t e l l u n g Mosco C a r n e r " The H i s t o r y o f t h e W a l t z " i s t a l s w i s s e n s c h a f t - W a l z e r l i t e r a t u r z u nennen .
S t e n g e r o v e r l o o k s Edua rd R e e s e r ' s The H i s t o r y o f t h e W a l t z ( 1 9 4 9 ) , and o f
c o u r s e one must a cknow ledge C u r t S a c h s ' W o r l d H i s t o r y o f t h e Dance and
P a u l N e t t l ' s The S t o r y o f Dance M u s i c . These s t u d i e s a r e p r i m a r i l y
e x a m i n a t i o n s o f t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e w a l t z , and w h i l e t h e y have been e s s e n
t i a l f o r b a ckg r ound i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e y a r e o n l y t a n g e n t i a l t o t h e s p e c i f i c
t o p i c d i s c u s s e d i n t h i s p a p e r . Mosco e a r n e r ' s The W a l t z c o n c e n t r a t e s on
b o t h t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e w a l t z and i t s p o p u l a r i t y a s a " l i g h t " m u s i c
g e n r e . A l t h o u g h a p r i m a r y s t r e s s o f t h i s t h e s i s w i l l a l s o be on t h o s e
composer s o f " l i g h t " m u s i c — J o s e p h L a n n e r and Johann S t r a u s s t h e e l d e r —
ou r emphas i s i s d e c i d e d l y d i f f e r e n t . We l o o k a t t h e s e composer s f r om a
more c r i t i c a l p o i n t o f v i e w : we examine t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e
L a n d l e r i n t o t h e w a l t z i n t h e l i g h t o f i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e c o m m e r c i a l
i z a t i o n o f m u s i c and i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o o t h e r wo rk s o f a r t c l a s s i f i e d as
B i e d e r m e i e r . S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s a r e v e r y c u r s o r i l y d e a l t w i t h by a l l
s o u r c e s e x c e p t A l f r e d S t e n g e r . However , he m i s s e s t h e mark t o some
d e g r e e as he o n l y d e a l s w i t h t h o s e work s w h i c h b e a r t h e t i t l e " w a l t z , "
t h u s e l i m i n a t i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t number o f S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z c o m p o s i t i o n s .
T h i s o v e r s i g h t i s more s e r i o u s w i t h Schumann, whose w a l t z c o m p o s i t i o n s
r a r e l y b e a r t h e t i t l e " w a l t z . " I n so f a r a s a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e
w a l t z a s a c u l t u r a l s ymbo l i s c o n c e r n e d , s c h o l a r s r e a d i l y a cknow ledge
t h a t i t u s h e r e d i n t h e s p i r i t o f a new age , b u t no one ha s y e t a t t e m p t e d
t o a c c o u n t d i r e c t l y f o r t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o f t h e w a l t z and i t s m u s i c
i n a c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t .
The o r i g i n s o f t h e w a l t z a r e o b s c u r e d by c l o u d s o f c o n t r o v e r s y .
3
A l t h o u g h most s c h o l a r s c r e d i t A u s t r i a w i t h i t s p a r e n t a g e , t h e r e a r e t h o s e
who e l e c t a F r e n c h o r i g i n i n t h e v o l t e ( I t a l i a n v o l t a ) . T h i s t h e s i s
w i l l n o t e n t e r i n t o t h e a r gument , b u t we w i l l a c know ledge i t and d i r e c t
t h e r e a d e r t o t h e r e l e v a n t s c h o l a r s h i p . The t e r m i n o l o g y d e s i g n a t i n g a
w a l t z i s i n d e c i s i v e up u n t i l abou t 1825 ; L a n d l e r , D e u t s c h , and W a l z e r
were i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y u sed t o d e s c r i b e t h e same d a n c e . I t w i l l be
u n d e r s t o o d t h e n t h a t i n C h a p t e r I what we d e s i g n a t e as w a l t z r e f e r s t o
t h e e a r l y o r r u s t i c w a l t z ; b u t i n C h a p t e r s I I and I I I i t w i l l be c a l l e d
L a n d l e r so a s t o d i s t i n g u i s h be tween t h e r u s t i c dance and t h e V i e n n e s e
w a l t z . T h e o r e t i c a l a n a l y s e s o f t h e m u s i c i n v o l v e d i n t h i s s t u d y a r e
p e r t i n e n t t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e y show t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o f t h e w a l t z and
i l l u m i n a t e t h e c o n t e x t s o f t h e s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s .
T h i s t h e s i s i s o r g a n i z e d i n t o t h r e e c h a p t e r s . C h a p t e r I i s c a l l e d
"The Dance as S y m b o l i c G e s t u r e . " Th rough a j u x t a p o s i t i o n o f t h e m i n u e t
and t h e w a l t z , we e x p l o r e t h e r e a s o n s t h a t t h e w a l t z a s cended t o a p o s i
t i o n where i t became t h e a e s t h e t i c s ymbo l o f an a ge , t a k i n g o v e r t h e r o l e
p r e v i o u s l y p l a y e d by t h e m i n u e t .
C h a p t e r I I i s e n t i t l e d "The P o p u l a r i z a t i o n o f t h e W a l t z . " He re we
examine t h e manner i n w h i c h t h e w a l t z came t o d o m i n a t e n o t o n l y Eu rope
b u t s p e c i f i c a l l y A u s t r i a . What were t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a t c au sed t h e
w a l t z and i t s p r i n c i p a l p u r v e y o r s , L a n n e r and S t r a u s s , t o ove r shadow t h e
work s o f " s e r i o u s " composers ? F i n a l l y , we p r o v e i t s p o p u l a r i t y by
documen t i n g i t s i n f i l t r a t i o n i n t o t h e " s e r i o u s " c o m p o s i t i o n s o f t h e e r a
a s e x e m p l i f i e d i n t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l wo r k s o f S c h u b e r t , Schumann, and
C h o p i n .
C h a p t e r I I I i s e n t i t l e d " T r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o f t h e W a l t z . " A l e n g t h y
s t u d y , i t i s d i v i d e d i n t o two m a j o r p a r t s . P a r t I i s e n t i t l e d " F r om
t h e L a n d l e r t o t h e W a l t z i n t h e Works o f J o s e p h L a n n e r , J ohann S t r a u s s ,
and F r a n z S c h u b e r t , " and i t d e a l s w i t h t h e p u r e l y m u s i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s o f
t h e two g e n r e s a s t h e y r e l a t e t o a r e f i n e m e n t i n t h e g e s t u r e s o f t h e dance
and i t s s e t t i n g . P a r t I I , e n t i t l e d "The T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e W a l t z a s
a R e f l e c t i o n o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r Z e i t g e i s t , " i s d i v i d e d i n t o f u r t h e r s u b
s e c t i o n s : t h e f i r s t , " The B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t , " e x p l a i n s t h e o r i g i n of: t h i s
t e r m and i l l u s t r a t e s i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s by c i t i n g r e l e v a n t m a n i f e s t a t i o n s
i n l i t e r a t u r e and a r t ; t h e s e c o n d , " The S y m b o l i c S i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e
W a l t z , " examines t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e w a l t z e s o f L a n n e r , S t r a u s s , and
S c h u b e r t t o t h i s c u l t u r a l m i l i e u .
CHAPTER ONE
DANCE AS SYMBOLIC GESTURE
As i n p o l i t i c s , so i n music, r e v o l u t i o n a r y changes penetrate i n t o a l l homes, great and s m a l l . In music the new i n f l u e n c e i s p e r c e p t i b l e even where i t s sensual t i e s w i t h l i f e are stron g e s t , that i s , i n the dance.
Robert Schumann
Dance i s symbolic gesture. I t i s a complex symbol which f u n c t i o n s
simultaneously on many l e v e l s . Our own experience t e l l s us that dance
plays a r o l e i n the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the sexes, i n marking e t h n i c
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and s o c i a l s t r a t i f i c a t i o n , whether i t be the d i v i s i o n
between young and o l d or between s o c i a l c l a s s e s . Dance a l s o serves a
s o c i o - p s y c h o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n as an aspect of t e n s i o n - r e l e a s e . " V a r i a
t i o n s i n the s o c i a l dance are never f o r t u i t o u s or random, but . . . are
so c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e that the dance must be seen as
a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t of the t o t a l c u l t u r a l pattern.""*"
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a marked change i n the
s t r u c t u r e of s o c i e t y was heralded by the c a p i t u l a t i o n of the minuet, the
dance emblem of the eighteenth century, to the w a l t z .
A. The Minuet: I t s C u l t u r a l S i g n i f i c a n c e and i t s Decline
The minuet was the c u l t u r a l symbol of the p e r i o d 1650 to 1750—an 2
age i n which i t dominated the courts of Europe. O r i g i n a l l y a simple,
e r o t i c ancient dance of c o u r t s h i p , once i n the court the minuet f e l l
under the i n f l u e n c e of an a r i s t o c r a t i c a e s t h e t i c which emphasised the 5
6
studied, the formal, and the refined. A l l aspects of l i f e , even to the
doffing of one's hat and the offering of snuff, were ruled by definite
3
formulae and could be mastered only after years of instruction. The
minuet was a product of i t s age, and in i t s f i n a l transformation i t
became the "choreographic expression of the s t i f f and r i g i d ceremonial 4
that governed high society in the eighteenth century," and has even been
described as "not a dance at a l l , but . . . one of the finest schools of
courtesy and deportment ever invented.""'
The decline of the minuet in the second half of the eighteenth cen
tury paralleled the decline of courtly l i f e with i t s stress on ceremony.
As the influence of parliament and pol i t i c ians in state af fa i rs increased,
the nobi l i ty retreated to their country estates. Entertainment in this
milieu tended to be more casual and to encourage the mixing of gentry and
tenants. In this setting, the minuet was out of place, the lower classes,
lacking the necessary instruction, could not perform the dance; and, the
minuet had a ceremonial significance that was relevant only in the formal
i t y of a court setting. "People began to feel that a party i s not a
course in etiquette, and for a long time society turned promptly to the
contre."^ The contre dance existed alongside the minuet in the eighteenth
century: in 1723 Bonnet described i t as "next to the minuet, the most g
popular dance at court. . . . " By the latter half of the century,
however, i t had usurped the minuet's popularity, and although i t s domin
ant position was short- l ived, i t s ascendancy was nonetheless important
because i t reflected societal trends which paved the way for the
popularization of the waltz. The appeal of the contre dance rested primarily on i t s accessibi l i ty
7
to the general populace of the country estate. Although i t had been
refined into a f igural dance in the court, i t did not require the exten-
9
sive tutoring the minuet had; "unschooled" dancers could participate.
Because the contre dance promoted amateurism, i t ran para l le l with the
trend toward simplici ty in the late eighteenth century. Its strong
democratic character reflected the popularity of egalitarianism: not
only did i t contribute to the mixing of classes, but i t had i t s origins
in the choral dance"^ (as opposed to the couple dance), where the essen
t i a l feature was the cooperation of the couples and the integration of
the individual into the group.
"It i s not simply by chance that some dances disappear, and others—
but not a l l aspirants—take their p l a c e . T h e contre dance was such
an unsuccessful aspirant. Although in i t s casual simplicity i t repre
sented a reaction to the studied, ceremonious a r t i f i c i a l i t y of the minuet,
i t was too much of a r e l i c of a courtly society to have the v i t a l i t y to
oppose seriously the aesthetic values mirrored in the minuet: having
existed i n a courtly milieu since the time of Elizabeth I and functioning
as no more than a frivolous pastime, the contre dance had lost the
serious association basic to i t s origin—that of the love combat of the
choral dance.
The loss of the erotic element fundamental to this dance is
emphatically pointed up in the publication of Neuer Tanz-und-Ball-Kalender
fur das Jahr 1801, where the contre dance i s described as "characterless tr ipping, something l i k e a horsetrot, to c a l l a coarse thing by a coarse
13
name," hardly a serious contender for the aesthetic role that the
nineteenth century required of the dance. A dance manual of the early
nineteenth century states that the true dance "must have soul,
8
express passion, imitate nature!"'1''*
This i s found in the waltz with i t s barely veiled wooing of the sexes.
Ernst Moritz Arndt describes a waltz at a vi l lage near Erlangen:
The dancers held up the dresses of their partners very high so that they should not t r a i l and be stepped on, wrapped them t ightly in this shroud, bringing both under one covering, as close together as possible, and thus the turning went on in the most indecent posi tions; the hand holding the dress lay hard against the breasts pressing lasciviously at every movement; the g i r l s , meanwhile, looked half mad and ready to swoon. As they waltzed around on the darker side of the room, the clasps and kisses became s t i l l bolder.15
B. The Waltz: Its Cultural Significance
The dance must have soul, express passion, imitate nature !-'-
The beginning of the waltz era i s generally set at about 1780,"^
18
precisely when the cultural background was ready for i t . The f a l l of
the minuet and the r ise of the waltz was contemporary with the ousting
of the courtly opera seria by the musical play in the vernacular and the 19
I tal ian aria by the folk song. This development was paralleled by
similar moves i n the other arts : the shif t in English poetry away from
the s t r i c t , polished heroic couplets of the Augustans, as in Alexander
Pope's poems, for example, to the profusion of l y r i c a l forms which
allowed for a free expression of emotions, as in the poems of Wordsworth
and Shelley; and in art , with the shif t in popularity from the didactic
works of David to an emotional emphasis in the works of his immediate
followers: the sensuality of Gerard's "Psyche Receiving the F i rs t Kiss
from Cupid" (1798), and the melodrama of Gericault 's "Raft of the Medusa"
(1818). It was a significant change in the arts that occurred con
currently with a significant change in the structure of society. The
French Revolution dramatfeally announced to the world the ascendancy of
9
t h e b o u r g e o i s i e t o a p o s i t i o n o f s o c i a l and economic power . The s p i r i t u a l
c o u n t e r p a r t s o f t h i s r e v o l u t i o n were a t t i t u d e s w h i c h v e n e r a t e d i d e a l s o f
democracy and i n d i v i d u a l i s m . T h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s , howeve r , much more
comp lex t h a n j u s t a s h i f t i n p h i l o s o p h y and i n s o c i o - e c o n o m i c power f r om
one c l a s s t o a n o t h e r . Such e g a l i t a r i a n i d e a l s a s democracy and i n d i v i d
u a l i s m i n a b r o a d e r c o n t e x t empha s i ze f r e e d o m — f r e e d o m f r o m c o n s t r a i n t s
on many l e v e l s . T h i s c h a n g i n g s p i r i t was n a t u r a l l y a c compan i ed by a
r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e o b s o l e s c e n c e o f t h e fo rms and s ymbo l s o f t h e f o r m e r
c o u r t l y s o c i e t y and a s e a r c h f o r more r e l e v a n t o n e s . I n t h e d a n c e , i t
i s g e n e r a l l y h e l d t h a t s o c i e t y s p o n t a n e o u s l y embraced t h e w a l t z a s s ym
b o l i c o f a new s p i r i t w h i c h s t r e s s e d , e q u a l i t y , s i m p l i c i t y , i n d i v i d u a l i s m ,
and s p o n t a n e i t y .
Becau se o f t h i s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h d e m o c r a t i c i d e a l s , t h e w a l t z
r e f l e c t e d t h e t r e n d i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t o l e v e l o u t s o c i a l d i s t i n c
t i o n s , a s may be seen f r o m an a c c o u n t g i v e n by a t r a v e l l e r f r o m B a v a r i a :
The p e o p l e h e r e a r e e x c e s s i v e l y f o n d o f t h e p l e a s u r e o f d a n c i n g ; t h e y need o n l y h e a r t h e m u s i c o f a w a l t z t o b e g i n t o c a p e r , no m a t t e r where t h e y a r e . The p u b l i c dance f l o o r s a r e v i s i t e d by a l l c l a s s e s ; t h e s e a r e t h e p l a c e s where a n c e s t o r s and r a n k seem t o be f o r g o t t e n , and a r i s t o c r a t i c p r i d e l a i d a s i d e . H e r e we see a r t i s a n s , a r t i s t s , m e r c h a n t s , c o u n c i l l o r s , b a r o n s , c o u n t s , and e x c e l l e n c i e s d a n c i n g t o g e t h e r w i t h w a i t r e s s e s , women o f t h e m i d d l e c l a s s and l a d i e s .
The o v e r w h e l m i n g a p p e a l o f t h e w a l t z was due i n p a r t t o i t s a c c e s s i b i l i t y :
b e cau se o f i t s s i m p l e t w i r l i n g movement, i t r e q u i r e d no i n s t r u c t i o n . I t s
s i m p l i c i t y was d e c i d e l y i n t u n e w i t h t h e p r e v a i l i n g s p i r i t o f t h e t i m e .
The a s c e n d a n c y o f t h e c o u p l e dance ( t h e w a l t z ) o v e r t h e c h o r a l dance
( t h e c o n t r e dance ) was i n e v i t a b l e once t h e t r i u m p h o f i n d i v i d u a l i s m had
m a t e r i a l i z e d i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . C u r t Sachs c o n t e n d s t h a t t h e
21 c h o r a l dance i s a communal dance w h i c h demands a compact s o c i a l o r d e r .
The desire of the bourgeoisie for social mobility in the name of individual
freedom precluded the establishment of an alternative communal society,
for the aims of the bourgeoisie were of necessity divisive and s e l f -
oriented. Janos Marothy sees the waltz as one of the symbols of the
completion of egocentricity, and regards the spread of the closed couple
dance as " . . . a phenomenon s t r i c t l y connected with bourgeois develop-
22 ment," beginning in the sixteenth century with the I tal ian volta , through
the various types of Dreher and Landler, intruding into the minuet, and
23
ending i n the waltz. A l l of "these dances represent the i n d i v i d u a l i z
ing tendency, not only as a couple dance but also as definite types inside 24
the couple dance," as seen in the comparison of the waltz and i t s o f f i
c i a l predecessor, the minuet: The movement structure of the minuet i s l i t t l e dancing, but much bowing and bending outward, in the direction of the world. That of the waltz i s an obstinate gyration, egocentrically, under the charm of an interior v i s i o n . . . . In this entrancement, the world i s submerged, annihilated with nothing else surviving but the Me and Mine: the dancer and the one who, mesmerized by the dance, had become his p a r t n e r . Z J
This analogy between the waltz, intoxication, and unrestrained sensuality
reflects the extremes to which the new s p i r i t of freedom had reached.
Spontaneous dancing had become so much the fashion that i t resulted i n
a thoroughgoing reform of professional dance. Jean-Georges Noverre
(1727-1810) proclaimed in his Lettres sur l a danse et sur les bal le ts : Nature! Nature! And our compositions must be beautiful ; let us renounce art , when i t i s not simple; i t convinces only when i t i s unrecognized and is taken for nature. . . . A beautiful painting is only a copy of nature; a beautiful ballet i s nature herself , enhanced by a l l the charms of art . . . . We must not merely practise steps; we must study the passions.^6
The emphasis on feeling lead to a preoccupation with the theme of love in
Romantic;, works of art because of love's potential for passionate in to x i
cation which in i t s extreme form could escape or transcend the material
11 27 world. That the w a l t z — t h e c o u r t i n g dance of the nineteenth c e n t u r y —
could e x i s t on t h i s more e s o t e r i c plane i s evident i n Goethe's Werther
(1801), where he r e f e r s to the w a l t z : " . . . never have I moved so
l i g h t l y . I was no longer a human being. To hold the most adorable
creature i n one's arms and f l y around w i t h her l i k e the wind, so that 28
everything around us fades away. . . . "
The w a l t z w i t h i t s p o t e n t i a l f o r u n b r i d l e d e r o t i c i s m had to break
through the b a r r i e r s of a r i s t o c r a t i c s o c i e t y before i t conquered Europe.
The eighteenth century s o c i e t y ' s a l l e g i a n c e to minnesinger i d e a l s of
c h i v a l r y was r e f l e c t e d i n i t s dance symbol of s t y l i z e d c o u r t s h i p as exem
p l i f i e d i n the minuet; eros was devotion: "To dance the minuet i s to 29
pay homage to woman." I t d i d not admit the p h y s i c a l . The w a l t z ,
t h e r e f o r e , threatened t h i s moral code because of the overt p h y s i c a l i t y
of i t s performance. Introduced i n B e r l i n at a court b a l l i n 1794, i t
so s hocked the Queen that i t was b anned , and i t r e m a i n e d so u n t i l the 30
r e i g n of W i l l i a m I I . Resistance to the waltz was strongest i n Eng
land. In h i s "Reminiscences" (London 1826) Michael K e l l y r a i l e d
a gainst " . . . t h i s f i e n d of German b i r t h , d e s t i t u t e of grace, d e l i c a c y 31
and p r o p r i e t y , a d i s g u s t i n g p r a c t i c e . . . . " Burney r e f l e c t s on ". . . how uneasy an E n g l i s h mother would be to see her daughter so
32
f a m i l i a r l y t r e a t e d . " The more popular the waltz became, the more
necessary i t was to warn against i t s excesses. A book by Salamo Jacob
Wolf, Erorterung derer w i c h t i g s t e n Ursachen der Schwache unserer Genera
t i o n i n H i n s i c h t auf das Walzen (1797) discusses the most important
causes of moral weakness of t h a t generation w i t h regard to the w a l t z .
The f i r s t e d i t i o n s o l d out and a second e d i t i o n was published two years
l a t e r under a more severe t i t l e : Beweis dass das Walzen eine Hauptquelle
12
der Schwache des Kbrpers und des G e i s t s unserer Generation sey. Deutsch-
lands Sohnen und Tochtern a n g e l e g e n t l i c h s t empfohlen ("Proof that the
waltz i s a main source of the weakness of body and mind of our generation. 33
Most u r g e n t l y recommended to the sons and daughters of Germany").
In s p i t e of the conservative r e s i s t a n c e of the o l d e r a r i s t o c r a c y
and the dancing masters, the p o p u l a r i t y of the waltz increased and r e s i s
tance began to weaken. This can be seen i n the almost about-face w i t h
which some E n g l i s h dancing masters, anxious to b e n e f i t from the current
f a s h i o n of dance, attempted to whitewash the waltz i n the face of the
charges of immorality. Thomas Wilson's "A D e s c r i p t i o n of the Correct
Method of W a l t z i n g " (1816), assured the p u b l i c that the waltz " . . . i s
g e n e r a l l y admitted to be a promoter of vigorous h e a l t h and productive of
h i l a r i t y of s p i r i t s , " and that as danced i n England i t i s ". . . t o t a l l y
d e s t i t u t e of the complained of a t t i t u d e s and movements used i n warmer and
l i g h t e r c l i m a t e s , " and consequently " . . . not an enemy of true morals." 35
England c a p i t u l a t e d to the waltz on 12 J u l y 1816. The waltz was
o f f i c i a l l y approved when i t was included i n a b a l l given by the P r i n c e
Regent. The Times reported the event on 15 J u l y 1816: On F r i d a y n i g h t the P r i n c e Regent gave a grand b a l l and supper at C a r l t o n House. . . . A f t e r supper dancing was resumed. . . . The dancing c o n s i s t e d only of w a l t z i n g and c o t i l l i o n s , i n which none of the Royal Family joined.^6
Resistance to the w a l t z , then, gave way to a kind of cautious acceptance.
A r e v u l s i o n / a t t r a c t i o n dynamism becomes b a s i c to the symbolism of the
waltz at the t u r n of the nineteenth century. Lord Byron's poem, "The
Waltz: An Apostrophic Hymn," p e r s o n i f i e s the waltz as a mistress--an
i r r e s i s t i b l e seductress who has s u c c e s s f u l l y challenged conventional
values and mores:
13
S e d u c t i v e W a l t z ! — t h o u g h on t h y n a t i v e s h o r e Even W e r t e r ' s s e l f p r o c l a i m ' d t h e e h a l f a w h o r e — W e r t e r , t o d e c e n t v i c e t hough much i n c l i n e d , Y e t warm n o t w a n t o n , d a z z l e d b u t n o t b l i n d ; Though g e n t l e G e n l i s , i n h e r s t r i f e w i t h S t a e l , Would even p r o s c r i b e t h e e f r o m a P a r i s b a l l ; The f a s h i o n h a i l s — f r o m c o u n t e s s e s t o queen s , And m a i d s and v a l e t s w a l t z b e h i n d t h e s c e n e s . Wide and more w i d e t h y w i t c h i n g c i r c l e s p r e a d s , And t u r n s — i f n o t h i n g e l s e — a t l e a s t ou r h e a d s ; W i t h t h e e even c l umsy c i t s a t t e m p t t o bounce , And c o c k n e y s p r a c t i s e what t h e y c a n ' t p r o n o u n c e . Gods! how g l o r i o u s theme my s t r a i n e x a l t s , And rhyme f i n d s p a r t n e r r h y m e ' i n p r a i s e o f ' W a l t z ! ' B l e s t was t h e t i m e W a l t z c ho se f o r h e r d e b u t : The c o u r t , t h e R e g e n t , l i k e h e r s e l f were new; New f a c e f o r f r i e n d s , f o r f o e s some new r e w a r d s ; New o rnament s f o r b l a c k and r o y a l g u a r d s ; New l a w s t o hang t h e r o g u e s t h a t r o a r ' d f o r b r e a d ; New c o i n s (most new) t o f o l l o w t h o s e t h a t f l e d ; New v i c t o r i e s — n o r can we p r i z e them l e s s , Though J e n k y wonder s a t h i s own s u c c e s s ; New w a r s , be cau se t h e o l d s u c c e e d so w e l l Tha t most s u r v i v o r s envy t h o s e who f e l l ; New m i s t r e s s e s — n o , o l d — a n d y e t ' t i s t r u e , Though t h e y be o l d , t h e t h i n g i s s ometh i n g new; E a c h new, q u i t e new ( e x c e p t some a n c i e n t t r i c k s ) , New w h i t e - s t i c k s , g o l d - s t i c k s , b r o o m s t i c k s , a l l new s t i c k s ! W i t h v e s t s o r r i b a n d s — d e c k ' d a l i k e i n hue , New t r o o p e r s s t r u t , new t u r n c o a t s b l u s h i n b l u e . So s a i t h t h e muse: m y — , what say you? Such was t h e t i m e , n o r e v e r y e t was s u c h ; Hoops a r e no more , and p e t t i c o a t s n o t much: M o r a l s and m i n u e t s , v i r t u e and h e r s t a y s , And t e l l - t a l e p o w d e r — a l l have had t h e i r d a y s .
To y o u , ye s i n g l e g e n t l e m e n , who seek To rment s f o r l i f e o r p l e a s u r e s f o r a week, As Love o r Hymen y o u r endeavou r s g u i d e To g a i n y o u r own o r s n a t c h a n o t h e r ' s b r i d e ; — To one and a l l t h e l o v e l y s t r a n g e r came, And e v e r y b a l l - r o o m echoes w i t h h e r name.37
CHAPTER TWO
THE POPULARIZATION OF THE WALTZ
. . . waltzes and nothing but waltzes are now so much the f a s h i o n that at dances nothing e l s e i s looked a t ; one need only be able to w a l t z and everything i s a l l r i g h t . . . .
Jo u r n a l des Luxus und der Moden, March, 1792
The focus of t h i s chapter w i l l be on the developing p o p u l a r i t y of the
w a l t z : i t s r i s e from r u r a l to n a t i o n a l favour, i t s transformation i n t o
the Viennese w a l t z , and i t s subsequent i n t e r n a t i o n a l preeminence. The
chapter ends w i t h a d i s c u s s i o n of the d i f f u s i o n of the waltz and waltz
elements i n t o the " s e r i o u s " works of prominent composers of the f i r s t
h a l f of the nineteenth century, w i t h p a r t i c u l a r reference to the works of
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and F r e d e r i c Chopin. We suggest that the
p o p u l a r i t y of the waltz was such that i t wove i t s way i n t o the very f a b r i c
of s o c i e t y .
A. Etymology
Because the o r i g i n s of the waltz are obscure and clouded i n d i s p u t e ,
anr.examination of the etymology of the word w i l l not only i d e n t i f y the
gestures b a s i c to t h i s dance, but w i l l a l s o help i n our understanding of
the d i f f i c u l t i e s of e s t a b l i s h i n g one d e f i n i t i v e name f o r t h i s dance form.
The word " w a l t z " was f i r s t used around 1750 i n a musical comedy
c a l l e d Bernarden w r i t t e n by the Viennese clown F e l i x von Kurz."'" Some
dances i n t h i s work are c a l l e d "Walzer," and one such piece i s a
14
vocal waltz whose words evoke the basic gestures of the dance:
Balden walzen umadum Mit heirassa drum
(Turn about waltzing and cheer as you turn)
In German, the word "waltz" i s walzer or walzen, the latter walzen
being cognate with the Old High German walzan and the Old Norse velta (to
revolve, to turn), which is related to the Latin volvere (to turn around)
and vertere (to turn). The Walze, used side by side with walzan, l i k e
the Dutch wals, s ignified a r o l l or cylinder. The French form of waltz
i s valse; the Spanish i s v a l s ; the Portugese i s valsa ; and the I tal ian
i s valzar. Signif icantly , the words ;turn, twist, walk, and wallow share
the same Indo-European base with these other words meaning or related to
2
waltz.
Although the word "waltz" to denote whirling or revolving does not
come into general use u n t i l the mid-eighteenth century, words suggestive
of the same meaning were in existence long before this . In 1525, the
Nuremberg Meistersinger Kunz comments on what was then a modern dance: Ytzund tanzt man den wiisten weller Den spinner, oder wie sies nennen.
(And now they dance the giddy "Weller ," ^ The "Spinner," or whatever they c a l l i t . )
As a l l of this suggests, the Germans had a variety of names to refer to
the same gesture. For example, the characteristic turning conveyed in
Weller and Spinner i s also conveyed by the names Dreher and Schleifer .
Then again, the name given to the turning couple dance might simply denote
the particular d i s t r i c t in which the dance was popular, i . e . , Steirer from
Styria , and Landler from Land ("Land ob der Enns" i s another name for
Upper Austria) . Another common name for this dance was Deutsch or
16 4
Teutsche—the generic name for a l l South German folk dances. To compli
cate matters further, numerous scholars from Casti l -Blaze , Fet is , L i t t r e ,
Larousse, Reeser, and Marothy-—all claim that the waltz i s descended from
the volta , a turning couple dance where couples turned and hopped in close
embrace."' There is also the claim that the Allemande in t r i p l e rhythm
danced in France in the second half of the eighteenth century was in fact
an early form of the waltz.^
By the turn of the nineteenth century, the myriad names denoting the
same gesture, namely a round dance i n t r i p l e time, danced by single
couples in close embrace, where hopping, stamping, and throwing the female
partner i n the air were the .outstanding features,^ had, for the most g
part, dwindled to three, the Landler, the Deutsche, and the Walzer. 9
Although there i s some evidence of minor distinguishing characteristics,
by and large these names were used indiscriminately in the f i r s t two
decades of the nineteenth century as Schubert's collections of dances
indicate.
Schubert wrote many of his dances i n several different v e r s i o n s : ^
he might c a l l a dance a Landler in one manuscript, a Deutsche in another,
and publish i t eventually as Waltzer. For example, Op. 171/D. 790 are
published as Zwolf Deutsche Tanze gennant, Landler. The pieces of Op.
18/D. 145 are twelve waltzes, but the f i r s t three were or ig inal ly numbers
one, two, and four of the Deutsche Tanze composed for the open air
f e s t i v a l at A t z e n b r u g g e r . P u b l i s h e r s were equally indifferent : after
Schubert's death they had no compunction about selecting works from a 12
col lect ion of.:Deutsche and t i t l i n g them Landler or Walzer.
This indifference by the composer and his publishers i s easily
explained: there simply was no difference between the Waltz, Landler,
and Deutsche of this time."1"""
It was not u n t i l the transformation of this early form of the
waltz into the Viennese waltz that the etymological confusion was c l a r i
f i e d . Hereafter, for the sake of c l a r i t y , we shall refer to the
variously named early rustic waltz by the designation most commonly used
today, Landler.
B. The Evolution of the Popularity of the Waltz
1. From Rural Origins to the Austrian Court
The waltz is said to have had i t s roots in tunes which were sung or
played on the f iddle and some alpine wind instrument; the music was
intended to accompany the mechanical actions of manual work. "One form
of such work songs i s s t i l l a l ive i n the southern German Schnadahupf1,
14
l i t e r a l l y the hopping of the reaper, which is both sung and danced."
From here these work dances evolved into independent dances which imitated
in a stylized form the work associated with their origins (these are the
roots of the German guild dances of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries). 16
But other dances were overtly associated with pantomimic love-play.
Aside from i t s role as a mimetic symbol of rural l i f e , the waltz
also had a tradition as the staple form of entertainment on the cargo
ships which sailed the Danube, in the taverns situated along this r i v e r ,
and in the open-air restaurants where Lanner and Strauss began their
17 careers.
During the seventeenth century, the Landler became an integral 18
part of Austrian court entertainment. In this context, i t was usual
to combine i t with a slow stately dance in common time, forming a con
trasting pair , Tanz and Nachtanz. The stately dance, the allemande, was
18
followed by the rustic dance, often simply referred to as the t r i p l a or
19 upspring. However, unlike the gavotte, minuet, contre-dance, e tc . ,
the Landler did not evolve into a refined courtly dance because of the
20
strong popular musical tradition in Austria . Popular music played an
important role in the seventeenth century dramatic presentations of scenes
from peasant l i f e during Carnival time (called Wirschaften, Landschaften,
Konigreiche, and Bauernhochzeiten). At these carnivals the aristocracy
would dress as peasants and act out these scenes complete with folk songs
and dances .^
At the beginning of the eighteenth century the allemande became
obsolete and the Landler became independent again, acquiring (as discussed
above) the variety of names referring to i t s characteristic turning ges-22
ture or the d i s t r i c t of i t s popularity. The practice of having the
Landler at court was carried on in this century primarily through the
masked balls held at the Emperor's summer residence at Schb'nbrunn. These
masked balls were open to a l l classes. The strongly feudal nature of
Austria encouraged close contact among the different strata of society,
thus helping to keep the simplicity of the waltz intact . The waltz was 23
never banned in Austria as i t was i n other countries, and from about 24
1750, i t was as popular as the minuet i n court.
The waltz did not become popular amongst fashionable society out
side of Germany u n t i l the lat ter part of the eighteenth century. It
began i t s conquest of Europe i n the late eighteenth century in associa
t ion with the then popular contre dance. These amalgamated dances were
alternately called the Tyroloise, Strasbourgeoise, and the Styrienne.
As the popularity of the waltz grew, i t s association with the contre
dance was expected:
19
The waltz has now become such a general favourite and i s so fashionable that no one can any longer be reconciled to the Eng l i s h dance without i t , for p r a c t i c a l l y a l l E n g l i s h dances are usually mixed with two turns of the waltz. . . .25
2. From the Casual to the Commercial: The Viennese Waltz
The Viennese waltz had i t s roots i n the t r a d i t i o n s of tavern and
coffee house entertainment. In the f i r s t h a l f of the nineteenth century
these simple, popular t r a d i t i o n s of informal music making were turned 26
into large scale commercial enterprises. The coincidence of an over
abundance of amateur tal e n t and a dance mania which gripped Vienna at 27
t h i s time encouraged entrepreneurism i n the f i e l d of entertainment.
C a p i t a l i z i n g on the lack of a v a i l a b l e dance space, speculators poured
huge amounts of money into dance h a l l s . The most ostentatious and pre
tentious of these, o v e r t l y aping the proportions and decor of a palace
(indeed i t was c a l l e d a dance palace), was the A p o l l o s a l , opened i n 1809
by the entrepreneur par excellence, Sigmund Wolffsohn. The Apollo H a l l
was a c t u a l l y f i f t e e n connecting h a l l s . I t boasted of having the larges t
ballroom, the l a r g e s t table service (worth 60,000 gulden), the most
kitchens, the best food, the f i n e s t service, and foremost orchestras.
The following d e s c r i p t i o n appeared i n an anonymous pamphlet e n t i t l e d "The
Journey of the Goddess of the Dance to the Vienna Apollo Palace": jlhe main h a l l j i s a c i r c u l a r h a l l b u i l t to perfect proportions. At equal i n t e r v a l s Ionic p i l l a r s are placed against the blue background of the walls and between these are narrow mirrors with w a l l brackets. Below the cornices there are l i t t l e c a v i t i e s around the h a l l which are ornamented with colored glass and illuminated from within. Pictures from mythology decorate the c e i l i n g . Set around the h a l l are one hundred round tables, each with i t s own t a s t e f u l comfortable ch a i r s . On each table there i s a centerpiece co n s i s t i n g of e i t h e r a f i g u r i n e , a candelabra or a basin from which springs f o r t h a fountain.
Under the influence of nineteenth century entrepreneurs, industry triumphed
over music: anyone who owned a dance h a l l also owned i t s p u b l i c , and
musicians were effectively put at the beck and c a l l of the owners of 29 - '
amusement palaces. Music which had the potential for a "quick sale"
was promoted. The result was a veritable waltz monopoly for the f i r s t
half of the nineteenth century, and as a consequence amateurism in com
positions was encouraged as the t i t l e of a book published at the turn of
the century suggests: A method of composing with two dice as many
Waltzes and Schleifer as one wishes, without being musical or knowing 30
anything of composition. Chopin writing from Vienna in 1831 said: Here, Waltzes are called works! And Strauss and Lanner, who play them for dancing, are called Kapellmeistern. This does not mean that everyone thinks l i k e that; indeed, nearly everyone laughs about i t ; but only Waltzes get printed.31
The waltz monopoly l i t e r a l l y transformed the character of the con
cert world. William Weber in a study of the growth of public concerts
in London, Paris , and Vienna, explores a phenomenon which witnessed the
divis ion of music into two, for the most part, alienated categories, the
" l i g h t " or "popular" (today i t passes for what i t real ly i s "commercial")
and the "serious." Serious concerts concentrated on the tr ied and true
repertoire, generally ignoring contemporary works, whereas popular con
certs tended to feature contemporary music. There were two types of
popular concerts, one of which was the benefit concert, usually held in
a salon, where v i r tuosi such as L i s z t , Chopin, and Paganini would promote
their own and other contemporary composers' works; the other was the
promenade concert which carried on the traditions of amateur music making 32
of the streets and taverns. It i s the latter that i s pertinent to the
popularity of the Viennese waltz, as this genre was the backbone of the
promenade concert: " . . . i n Vienna the waltz nights remained the one 33
form of mass musical entertainment throughout the century." By 1830
promenade concerts had eclipsed a l l other types of concerts, the direct
21
result of the commercial exploitation of popular traditions of informal
34 entertainment.
It was this milieu that allowed such self-taught musicians as Joseph
Lanner, the son of a glove maker, and Johann Strauss, the son of an inn
keeper, to amass "waltz empires," and to acquire a status which would
formerly have been available only to schooled a r t i s t s . In 1829 Lanner
was appointed to direct the concerts of the Redoutensall and was honoured 35
with the t i t l e of K'dniglish und Kaiserl ich Hofballmusikdirector. Such
was the international popularity of the waltz in 1834 that Strauss and
his orchestra were welcomed into the ballrooms of royalty i n Germany, 36
Russia, Belgium, and England. Strauss' popularity—his messianic hold over his audience—is attested to by Richard Wagner i n 1832:
. . . this demon of the Viennese musical s p i r i t shook l i k e a Pythian priestess on the tripod, and veritable groans of ecstacy raised the magic v i o l i n i s t to almost bewildering heights of frenzy.37
3. The Diffusion of the Waltz into "Serious" Works with Particular Reference to Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Frederic Chopin
The waltz was in the a i r , and everyone in the nineteenth century
was subject to i t s permeating influence, as the tables in Appendix VI
indicate. We have chosen to tabulate overt and covert waltzes in the
instrumental works of three of the most prominent composers (Schubert,
Schumann, Chopin) whose compositions f a l l within the f i r s t half of the
nineteenth century, as proof of this phenomena. Nowhere are
waltzes more omnipresent than in the compositions of Franz Schubert.
Schubert occupies a unique place v i s - a - v i s his relationship to
38 " l ight music," a category to which his 313 waltzes belong. These
dance s w e r e , a l o n g w i t h h i s s ong s , t h e b a s i c f o r m o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t a t
m i d d l e c l a s s house p a r t i e s , and a r e t h e r e s u l t o f h o u r s o f i m p r o v i s i n g
39 a t t h e p i a n o w h i l e h i s f r i e n d s l i s t e n e d and d a n c e d . A t a t i m e when
m u s i c a l t r i v i a t ended t o ove r shadow t h e m u s i c a l l a n d m a r k s o f " s e r i o u s "
40 c o m p o s i t i o n , S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s o f t e n " k e p t t h e w o l f f r o m t h e d o o r . "
I n S c h u b e r t ' s t i m e , m i d d l e c l a s s home m u s i c had a b u r g e o n i n g c o m m e r c i a l
Jc
„42
41 v a l u e . J o h n Reed see s h im " a s t h e f i r s t v i c t i m o f t h e d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n
o f t a s t e .
The s c h i s m between " l i g h t " and " s e r i o u s " m u s i c w h i c h o c c u r r e d i n
t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y i s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y m a n i f e s t i n S c h u b e r t ' s w o r k s :
43 he had a f o o t i n b o t h w o r l d s . As Reed s a y s :
. . . h i s m u s i c s peak s w i t h e q u a l d i r e c t n e s s and f o r c e t o t h e c o n n o i s s e u r and t o t h e m u s i c a l l y u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d , and t h i s . . . i s n o t t o be e x p l a i n e d away by p r e t e n d i n g t h a t t h e w a l t z e s we re u n c o n s i d e r e d t r i f l e s t o s s e d o f f i n t h e i n t e r v a l s be tween more s e r i o u s c o m p o s i t i o n . ^
The key t o t h e n a t u r a l b l e n d o f b o t h f i e l d s i s a p t l y a c c o u n t e d f o r by
A r t h u r H u t c h i n g s when he w r i t e s t h a t " F r a n z S c h u b e r t came f r o m t h e m i d d l e
45
c l a s s and i t was f o r t h e i r e m o t i o n a l demands t h a t he w r o t e . "
T h i s l a c k o f d i s t i n c t i o n be tween t h e " l i g h t " and t h e " s e r i o u s " i s
p r e s e n t i n S c h u b e r t ' s wo r k s w h i c h have a p l a c e i n t h e " s e r i o u s " r e p e r
t o i r e o f t o d a y . J . A . Wes t rup n o t e s t h a t " . . . t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e
46
c a f e and t h e a t r e i s . . . e v e r y w h e r e . . . . " i n t h e chamber w o r k s .
W r i t i n g abou t h i s p i a n o s o n a t a s , K a t h l e e n D a l e r ema rk s t h a t " S c h u b e r t ,
t h e composer o f hund red s o f songs and s c o r e s o f d a n c e s , c o u l d n o t h a p p i l y
w r i t e a p i a n o s o n a t a w i t h o u t d r a w i n g upon h i s i n e x h a u s t i b l e r e s e r v e s o f
v o c a l m e l o d i e s and dance measu re s and i n t r o d u c i n g them unashamed ly when -
47
e v e r he f e l t i n c l i n e d . " W e s t r u p ' s and D a l e ' s o b s e r v a t i o n s a r e c o n
f i r m e d by t h e l i s t o f w a l t z e l e m e n t s i n t h e work s i n v a r i o u s i n s t r u m e n t a l
23
genres at the end of this chapter.
The most l i k e l y place for elements of the waltz to appear i s in the
dance movements of those works which employ the sonata cycle, that i s ,
the minuet and t r i o . It i s in the t r io that we might expect to hear the
Landler.
Examining the character of the t r io of the minuet, Eric Blom cites
a transformation from the musette-like t r io of Bach's minuet and trios to
the LSndler-like tr ios coming conspicuously to the fore in the second
48 half of the eighteenth century. This type of t r io i s prevalent in the
49
works of the Mannheim composers and in many of Mozart's t r ios , for
example K. 525 and K. 5 5 0 . S c h u b e r t inherited and expanded upon this
t radi t ion. Table 1 (Appendix VI) i l lus t ra tes the pervasiveness of the
Landler in the t r i o s , whether they be called Menuetto and Trio or Scherzo
and T r i o . Table 1 also i l lus t ra tes the trend toward the refinement of
the LSndler into the Viennese waltz, as in the t r io of the String Quartet,
D. 87 that mediates between Landler and waltz, and as in the String Quar
tet, D. 810 that has a t r io which is a true waltz.
More significant in terms of the pervasiveness of the Landler and
the waltz i s the extent to which they penetrated the principal section of
the dance movement in the sonata cycle. By Schubert's time, the Minuet
and Trio was in the throes of being transformed into the Scherzo and
T r i o . The former no longer had any sociological relevance in the early
nineteenth century, yet i t was not suff ic ient ly passe to be consciously
used as an his tor i ca l a l lusion. This movement, alluding to the origins
of c lass ica l absolute music in the dance suite, however, had been associ
ated with the minuet since i t s inception, and the name persisted though
the content changed. As the l i s t s of waltz elements i n Appendix VI show
24
the t i t l e s Meneutto and Scherzo are used indiscriminately, part icularly
so with regard to the Menuetto. They are rarely true menuettos, but
rather scherzi, Landler, waltzes, and often a mixture. Less frequent
are Landler and waltzes that masquerade as scherzi; the scherzi of the
Symphony, D. 944 and of the Piano T r i o , D. 898 are but two exceptions.
This disparity between content and t i t l e in Schubert' s work's
reflects the transitional phase that movements t radit ional ly associated
with the dance were i n . On the one hand, the scherzi were a response to
absolute music's shedding her identity with her lowly origins in the dance
suite. On the other hand, when Landler and waltzes masquerade as scherzi
and part icularly minuets, we are simultaneously affected two ways: we
are reminded of the tradit ional origins of the genres of absolute music
(sonatas, symphonies, chamber works), and we are also reminded of the
obsolescence of the minuet, as well as the fact that common practice pre
cedes etymological c l a r i f i c a t i o n in periods of t ransit ion. Nonetheless,
the diffusion of waltz and part icularly Landler elements in the principal
section of the dance movement i s more extensive with Schubert than with
any other composer of the time, and that effect ively demonstrates the
prominent role the Landler and the waltz played in the "serious" works
of his time.
The waltz plays an important role in the instrumental works of Robert
Schumann, part icularly the piano works. By the time Schumann had begun
writing, Lanner and Strauss had effect ively transformed the Landler into
the Viennese waltz. This inherited dist inct ion can be seen in Schumann's
Albumblatter, Op. 124, where of. a.series of twenty short pieces, the
seventh i s called Landler, and numbers 4, 10, and 15 are t i t l e d Walzer.
25
U n l i k e Schubert's works, Schumann's waltzes and waltz-based works have
only a remote connection w i t h the f i e l d of l i g h t music. They are not
f u n c t i o n a l p i e c e s , and they are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h popular music only to the
extent that they are concerned w i t h d e p i c t i n g popular dance f e s t i v a l s .
I t i s the e x t r a - m u s i c a l — t h e symbolism a s s o c i a t e d w i t h these f e s t i v i t i e s
— t h a t Schumann's waltzes are o f t e n r e q u i r e d to p o r t r a y : to the Romantic
". . . the C a r n i v a l becomes the prophetic v o i c e seeking behind the mask 52
i t s own e s s e n t i a l nature."
The waltz i s a prominent f e a t u r e i n Schumann's works to the extent
that the works are programmatic. Consequently, we should not expect to
f i n d an abundance of waltzes i n h i s l a t e r o r c h e s t r a l and chamber works
given the f a c t of h i s a e s t h e t i c s h i f t to a p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r absolute
music. We know that because of h i s t u r n toward absolute music he made
a l t e r a t i o n s i n the second e d i t i o n s of some of h i s e a r l y scores, f o r
example i n the Davidsbiindlertanze. I n the o r i g i n a l e d i t i o n (1838),
Schumann emphasized the programmatic nature of the work by p u b l i s h i n g i t
under h i s pseudonyms, F l o r e s t a n and Eusebius, appending to each piece the i n i t i a l of one or the other or both according to the character of the
53
music. He gave stage d i r e c t i o n s a f t e r two of the dances. A f t e r
number 8, he notes, "Herewith F l o r e s t a n made an end, and h i s l i p s quivered
p a i n f u l l y , " and a f t e r number 18, he w r i t e s , "Quite s u p e r f l u o u s l y Eusebius 54
remarked as f o l l o w s ; but a l l the time great b l i s s spoke from h i s eyes." In the second e d i t i o n (1850), Schumann omitted the word "dances" from the
55
t i t l e , expunging the work of synaesthesic d e s c r i p t i v e notes.
We w i l l d eal f i r s t w i t h the works which r e f l e c t the waltz the l e a s t ,
the symphonic, the c o n c e r t i , and the chamber p i e c e s , proceeding from there
to the m u l t i - f a c e t e d pervasiveness of the waltz i n the works of h i s e a r l y
p e r i o d , the piano compositions.
Only the f i r s t of the symphonies and overtures contains a w a l t z .
I t appears i n the most l o g i c a l movement f o r a dance, the Scherzo and
T r i o . One would expect to hear the waltz i n the T r i o ; however, i t
occurs i n the Scherzo, thus c o n t i n u i n g the p r a c t i c e e s t a b l i s h e d by Schu
be r t of w r i t i n g waltzes which masquerade as s c h e r z i . The presence of
the waltz i s confirmed by Robert S c h a u f f l e r : " A f t e r the sweetness of
the Larghetto, the almost grim v i r i l i t y of the Scherzo's opening . . . 56
melts i n t o one of Schumann's waltz tunes."
The ConcertstUck f o r four horns i n F-major i s the only one of the
f i n i s h e d c o n c e r t i that has a suggestion of a w a l t z . I t occurs i n the
second theme of the second movement: the p i z z i c a t o accompaniment of the
c e l l o evokes the g u i t a r bass (oom-pa-pa) of the w a l t z .
The s i t u a t i o n changes i n the chamber works, where the piano t r i o s
show a p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r the w a l t z . In the T r i o of the Scherzo ( t h i r d
movement), one overhears the ghost of a w a l t z : i t s almost too quick but
steady three-quarter time has the l i l t of the w a l t z . More obvious waltz
elements pervade the other two important piano t r i o s . The second and
t h i r d movements of Op. 80 focus on the w a l t z . The second movement
marked "Mit innigem Ausdruck" has two b a s i c c h a r a c t e r s , A and B. A i s
a w a l t z and B i s i n duple time; there i s f l u i d movement between these
two s e c t i o n s to evoke an a l t e r n a t i o n form. The t h i r d movement, marked
"In massiger Bewugung," evokes a three-part dance movement, and we hear
W a l t z / T r i o ( l e s s o b v i o u s l y a w a l t z ) / W a l t z . In Op. 110 the second move
ment i s marked " Z i e m l i c h langsam," and i t i s i n a three-part form i n
which, a slow, sentimental waltz frames a q u i c k e r , rough scherzo movement.
The waltz p o r t i o n , as the example below shows, i s i n 12/8 time, not the
27
expected 3/4 or even 3/8.
This example recal ls the important question, How does one determine
what i s a waltz? Some form of t r i p l e time i s obviously necessary, and
the tempo must usually accommodate the suggestion of dancing. Beyond
that, the elongation of the f i r s t beat J J or J.1^j and the guitar bass
^ > the "oom-pa-pa" as we commonly refer to i t , are what chief ly
57
distinguish the waltz from the Landler. The slow tempo of the example
cited allows the l istener to hear i t as 3/4, and the guitar bass of the
piano accompaniment establishes the waltz character of this movement.
We turn now to Schumann's early compositions, those written for 58
piano, where the most important manifestations of the waltz occur.
This i s the period of Schumann's preoccupation with synaesthesic imagery.
Moritz Katz's comparative study of a preference for such imagery among
German Romantics revealed that Schumann used more synaesthesic images
than some leading writers : Ludwig Tieck = 696, E. T. A. Hoffmann = 652, 59
and Robert Schumann = 824. The relevant point here is that Schumann
28
not only used the waltz overtly and simply as one of a number of dances in
a dance suite but also covertly to convey the image of the popular masked
b a l l . Schumann l i k e many other Romantics was fascinated by the hidden
associations that this image could convey. For the moment we shall
delineate the various categories that his waltzes and waltz-based composi
tions f a l l into. Examples w i l l be given, but more complete categoriza
tions of these works w i l l be found in Table 2 .(Appendix VI) .
With the exception of the earliest works, the unpublished Sechs
Walzer and the Eight Polonaises for Four Hands, Op. I l l (not published
60
u n t i l 1935), Schumann's waltzes for piano are programmatic. There i s ,
however, a significant difference in the degree to which the programmatic
allusions permeate the various works. For this reason, we w i l l divide
the discussion of these early compositions into two main categories:
the remotely programmatic and the intimately programmatic. These two
categories w i l l further be distinguished into those overtly related to
the dance and those which covertly suggest the dance or are unrelated
to the dance.
Remotely programmatic compositions. These works bear a synaes-
thesic t i t l e which more than anything else serves l o g i c a l l y to bind a
number of otherwise disparate pieces together in a picturesque way.
Some are clearly related to the dance but others are not. When a waltz
appears in an overt way, Schumann always entit les i t "waltz"; when i t
i s covertly suggested, obviously Schumann refrains from using this t i t l e .
The Kinderball , Op. 130, and Ball-scenen, Op. 109, feature the
waltz as one of a number of national dances. They are dance suites
whose t i t l e s both overtly suggest a direct connection with the dance
while at the same time locating the dance in i t s functional place, the
ballroom.
C l o s e l y r e l a t e d to the above i s the AlbumblStter, Op. 124, where
among a s e r i e s of twenty pieces there are three waltzes and one L a n d l e r ,
a l l designated as such. The t i t l e of the c o l l e c t i o n i s not suggestive
of the dance because i t i s r e q u i r e d to bind together such a v a r i e t y of
pieces as "Walzer," " V i s i o n , " and "Canon." These works were not con
ceived as c o n t r i b u t i n g to a u n i f i e d whole, being composed anywhere
between 1832 and 1845. We know, f o r i n s t a n c e , that number three,
"Scherzino," was r e j e c t e d from C a r n i v a l , ^ that number f o u r , "Walzer,"
was r e j e c t e d from P a p i l l o n s . This i s but one instance of Schumann's
i n c l i n a t i o n to salvage as many of h i s compositions as p o s s i b l e .
As we i n d i c a t e i n Table 2, the covert waltzes i n t h i s category are
more prevalent than the overt ones. Neither the t i t l e s nor the i n d i v i d
u a l waltzes which appear a l l u d e to the dance; t h e r e f o r e we have to r e l y
on the music and other a s s o c i a t i o n s to determine the presence of the
w a l t z . We w i l l d i s c u s s two of the works here; the'others can be found
i n Table 2. In the "Funf Albumblatter" from Bunte B l a t t e r , Op. 99,
number three i s a w a l t z . We determine t h i s from the music, which i s a
simple b i n a r y form composition w i t h waltz c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . This i s
f u r t h e r confirmed when we discover that i t was o r i g i n a l l y a part of the 62
waltz-based C a r n i v a l . The Bunte B l a t t e r are another example of
Schumann's compulsion to "get h i s house i n order" as he neared the end
of h i s l i f e . The pieces i n t h i s opus span the years 1832 to 1849; 63
Schumann d i d not decide to salvage them f o r p u b l i c a t i o n u n t i l 1851.
The I n t e r m e z z i , Op. 4, e x h i b i t a s i g n i f i c a n t number of waltz elements.
As we show i n Table 2, four of the s i x pieces i n t h i s work evoke the
w a l t z . The r e l a t i o n s h i p of these i n t e r m e z z i to the waltz i s more
strongly established when we recognize the. kinship between Op. 4 and Op.
2, Papillons, a work most defini tely associated with the waltz. Schumann
himself considered these works related, for in a letter to Dr. T. Topken
of 5 A p r i l 1833, he said, "At Easter w i l l appear Intermezzi (two books; 64
they are extended Papi l lons) . " Kathleen Dale has determined that the
coda of the Intermezzi was taken from a rejected sixteen bar Papillon in
3/4 time.^"* Other examples of this type of waltz element can be found
in Table 2.
Intimately programmatic compositions. There are a total of f ive
works in this category, and they are l i s ted in Table 2. They are a l l
either overtly or covertly associated with the image of the masked b a l l ,
an image which dominates most of the works in this category. It i s a
multi-faceted image where we are simultaneously faced with disguise and
revelation. Though we rely on t i t l e s associated with the b a l l to con
vey the programmatic intent of the work, i t i s the presence of the music
of the waltz, the most popular dance at these b a l l s , that convinces us
that we are at a b a l l . The most obvious associations with the masked
b a l l are conveyed by the t i t l e s of Carnival, Op. 9, and Faschingsschwank
aus Wien: Fantasiebilder. Carnival i s the more expl ic i t i n i t s
association with this image: along with the overt reference of the
t i t l e go the masked participants in the b a l l whose disguise is revealed
both l i t e r a l l y and musically, that i s , Chopin, who is both disguised and
revealed by the Nocturne. Of the twenty-one pieces in this work,
thirteen are waltzes with two pieces, the "Valse Noble" and the "Valse
Allemande," overtly designated as such. Faschingsschwank, whose t i t l e
i s equally suggestive of the masked b a l l i s the latest of the s i g n i f i
cantly programmatic waltz-based compositions. Because only the Allegro
31
of this f ive movement work is an undesignated waltz, the programmatic
al lusion of this t i t l e i s more tenuous. The Davidbiindlertanze, Op. 6,
as i t s t i t l e specifies , i s a col lect ion of dances. Of the two volumes
of nine dances each, at least seven are undesignated waltzes. The
t i t l e l inks i t to Carnival, where the chief participants are members of
the Davidsbund, thus establishing the masked b a l l as the image common
to them both.
Papillons, Op. 2, and the Abegg Variations, Op. 1, are covertly
connected with this image. Their t i t l e s do not suggest the connection,
but the music does. Although none of the eight pieces in Op. 2 i s given
a dance t i t l e , each i s i n binary form, and six of the eight have the
characteristics of the waltz. Op. 1 has a theme, four variations, and
a f i n a l e . Of these the theme and three of the variations are waltzes.
Moreover, there is programmatic evidence to suggest that these works
were influenced by the image of the masked b a l l . The Abegg Variations
are said to have been inspired by a dancing partner of Schumann's at a
66
Mannheim ball—Meta Abegg, and Papillons was identif ied by Schumann
himself as being inspired by a chapter in Jean Paul Richeter's
Flegeljahr: . . . I w i l l allow myself a few words about the origins of the Papillons; for the thread that binds them together i s barely v i s i b l e . You w i l l remember the last scenes of the Flegeljahr -—masked ball—Walt—Vult—masks—Wina—Vult's dancing. . . 6'/
It i s inevitable that we almost inst inct ively think of Chopin—
and Strauss Jr.—when considering the waltz—at any time, not just in
the nineteenth century. But in the realm of "serious" music, i t i s
Chopin who shaped our consciousness of the salon or concert waltz
t h r o u g h h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h i s g e n r e . C o n s e q u e n t l y , we a r e n o t s u r
p r i s e d when we o v e r h e a r s u g g e s t i o n s o f t h e w a l t z i n h i s c o m p o s i t i o n s
w h i c h a r e n o t o v e r t l y w a l t z e s . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l m a j o r wo r k s i n w h i c h
t h e w a l t z i s an i m p o r t a n t i n f l u e n c e , b u t t h e r e a r e o t h e r s where ou r
b e g u i l i n g a s s o c i a t i o n o f C h o p i n w i t h t h e w a l t z may m i s l e a d u s .
We m i g h t a l l t o o o f t e n m i s t a k e t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e mazu r ka f o r an
echo o f t h e w a l t z ( t h i n k f o r i n s t a n c e o f t h e t h i r d movement o f t h e second
p i a n o C o n c e r t o , Op. 21), and f o r good r e a s o n . The s t y l i z a t i o n o f t h e
mazu r ka c u r i o u s l y p a r a l l e l s t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e s t y l i z a t i o n o f t h e w a l t z
f r o m i t s r o o t s i n t h e r u s t i c L a n d l e r :
The mazurek i n i t s p r i m i t i v e f o r m and as t h e common p e o p l e dance i t , i s o n l y a k i n d o f k r a k o w i a k , o n l y l e s s l i v e l y and l e s s s a u t i l l a n t . The a g i l e C r a c o v i a n s and t h e m o u n t a i n e e r s o f t h e C a r p a t h i a n s c a l l t h e mazurek danced by t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e p l a i n b u t a d w a r f e d k r a k o w i a k . The p r o x i m i t y o f t h e Germans, o r r a t h e r t h e s o j o u r n o f t h e German t r o o p s , h a s - c a u s e d t h e t r u e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e mazurek among t h e p e o p l e t o be l o s t ; t h i s dance has become a k i n d o f awkward w a l t z . 6 8
F o r a l l h i s a c q u i r e d F r e n c h s o p h i s t i c a t i o n , C h o p i n was d e e p l y
r o o t e d i n h i s n a t i v e P o l i s h m u s i c , a s we canno t h e l p b u t n o t e i n c a t a
l o g i n g h i s numerous c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e p o l o n a i s e and t h e m a z u r k a , and
t h e s e r o o t s b e a r f r u i t i n u n e x p e c t e d p l a c e s . Where we m i g h t e x p e c t a
w a l t z ( i n t h e t r i o o f a s c h e r z o ) , we h e a r a m a z u r k a , b u t b e c a u s e o f t h e
many common f e a t u r e s be tween t h e two dance s (most n o t a b l y t h e m e t r e and
t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e g u i t a r b a s s ) we may c a s u a l l y b l u r t h e d i s t i n c t i o n s .
However , once a l e r t e d t o t h e p r o b l e m , we w i l l a p p r e c i a t e ou r a n a c h r o n
i s t i c d i f f i c u l t y , b u t a t t h e same t i m e we s h o u l d r e i n f o r c e c l e a r d i s t i n c
t i o n s . T h e r e a r e C h o p i n ' s w a l t z e s , t h e work s he o v e r t l y t i t l e s w a l t z e s ;
and t h e r e a r e t h e c o m p o s i t i o n s i n w h i c h t h e w a l t z c o v e r t l y p l a y s a r o l e .
C h o p i n w r o t e s e v e n t e e n o v e r t w a l t z e s w h i c h a r e l i s t e d i n T a b l e 3
33
(Appendix VI) , but he was affected by the waltz in other works not
associated with this genre.
In the Minuetto of the f i r s t piano Sonata, Op. 4, we respond to a
movement that i s properly t i t l e d minuet, except a section, bars 16-48,
which conveys a touch of the waltz.
The Scherzo of the T r i o , Op. 8, might have had a trace of the waltz
swing but for the rather interfering contrapuntal l ines of the v i o l i n and
c e l l o . The T r i o , however, i s str iking insofar as i t s theme evokes not
so much the l i l t of the waltz as a Landler-like rhythm (bars 82-97).
The Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2, poses a problem: do t r i p l e t - l i k e
figurations of chords suff ic ient ly enough evoke the guitar bass accom
paniment of the waltz so that we may legitimately refer to these works
as manifesting a waltz influence? Perhaps the answer l i e s in the
tempo. Bearing in mind Chopin's a-minor waltz, we may have warrant to
accept this Nocturne into the canon of pieces influenced by the waltz.
The sweep of the f i r s t Ballade, Op. 23, i s l i k e the dance gesture
of the waltz. Immediately after the opening, the 6/4 bars assume the
character of a fast 3/4 x 2, and the l i l t of the waltz i s established to
contrast dramatically with other elements of the piece throughout the
work.
Of the four Scherzos only the second, Op. 31, betrays a clear
influence of the waltz. The sostenuto section, bars 265-582, and
analagous passages, i s an agitated waltz.
Frenzied as the waltz element i s in the above Scherzo, the Scherzo
of the second piano Sonata, Op. 35, in i t s Piu Lento section affords us
an instance of a slow waltz (bars 81-183 and 274 to the end).
The fourth Ballade, Op. 52, i s influenced throughout by the waltz.
After the eight-bar introduction, a waltz-l ike melody enters accompanied
by a " t r i p l e t " figuration in eighth notes in 6/8 that discretely affects
a waltz-l ike accompaniment. This piece may be the instance of Chopin's
assimilation of the waltz. The influence of this genre is hardly overt,
yet neither i s i t disguised; rather i t i s transformed and elaborated
and stands as a testament to the powerful influence of the waltz in
Chopin's time—and in Chopin's work.
C. Conclusion
In chapter two we traced the history of the popularity of the waltz,
culminating in i t s exclusive dominance over other dance forms in the
f i r s t half of the nineteenth century. In this period, the broader
impact of the waltz on society was indicated by the fact that "popular"
waltz concerts eclipsed "serious" concerts, a situation which was further
underscored by the degree to which the waltz was assimilated into " s e r i
ous" composition. We concluded that this phenomenon was the result of
the commercialization of the traditions of popular, casual entertainment.
We have observed that the Viennese waltz developed in a setting
far removed from i t s origins . Its evolution from a simple, outdoor
country dance to a sophisticated ballroom dance resulted not only in a
refinement of the waltz's or iginal gestures, but also in the symbolic
content of this dance. The form of the waltz which we discussed in
chapter one symbolized a universal aesthetic shif t away from the c u l t i
vated, s tyl ized, and emotionally contained aesthetic of the eighteenth
century positing in i t s stead the simple, the natural, and the emotionally
unrestrained. In the next chapter, with the Viennese waltz, we w i l l
witness a contraction in the symbolism of the waltz into something that
i s again class-oriented: as the minuet was the aesthetic symbol of the
aristocracy, the waltz became the aesthetic symbol of the bourgeoisie.
In the works of Joseph Lanner, Johann Strauss, and Franz Schubert, the
waltz f a l l s into a category of art which part icularly reflected the
Austrian bourgeoisie of the period 1815 to 1848—an era which has been
retrospectively named the Biedermeier epoch.
CHAPTER THREE
THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE WALTZ
Musical l i k e p o l i t i c a l revolutions penetrate under the lowest roof into the smallest matter. In music we observe the new influence in precisely that branch where art i s sensuously a l l i e d to common l i f e — i n the dance. As contrapuntal predominance disappeared, miniature sarabands and gavottes, hoops and patches, went out of fashion, and pigta i l s became much shorter. Then the minuets of Mozart and Haydn rustled by in their long trains, while people stood facing each other decorously and s i l e n t l y , bowing often, and f i n a l l y walking away. . . . Then young Beethoven broke i n , breathless, yet embarrassed and d i s turbed with long, disordered hair . . . and people were greatly astonished at the eccentric fellow; but the ballroom was too narrow and tiresome for him, so he rushed out into the darkness . . . elbowing fashion and ceremony, but moving aside lest he should step on the flowers; and those who are pleased with such a nature c a l l i t a caprice, or anything you l i k e . And then a new generation grew up; the children became youths and maidens, so shy, so dreamy . . . no one thinks anymore of so c iabi l i ty , of sympathy; each one thinks and acts for himself. . . . A clear and merry strain s t i l l resounds from Strauss; but the deeper ones seized by the s p i r i t of the day, are overpowered . . . how w i l l i t a l l end, and whither are we tending?
Robert Schumann
General Introduction
This chapter i s divided into two parts. Part one w i l l deal with
the musical evolution of the Landler into the waltz, and Part two w i l l
examine the significance of this transformation. We w i l l see how,
through the waltzes of Joseph Lanner, Johann Strauss, and Franz Schubert,
the transformation of the waltz reflected the aesthetic characteristics
of the Biedermeier epoch. In order to deal with this subject, some
h i s t o r i c a l background i s necessary.
36
37
Nowhere was the waltz so much an Integral part of society as in
the lands of i t s origins , Austria and Germany. During the period 1800
to 1850, Germany and Austria were not mutually exclusive terr i tor ies but
formed part of a collection of lands within the largely f i c t i o n a l frame
work of the Holy Roman Empire. A loose confederation of thirty-nine
p o l i t i c a l units of which four were free c i t i e s , was known as the Germanic
Confederation. The majority of these units were sandwiched between the
two major outside powers of this confederation, Austria and Prussia which
during the course of the nineteenth century competed for the leadership
of the German states.'*" In the f i r s t half of the nineteenth century,
Austria had the greater influence because she held the position of per-
2 manent president of the main organ of the confederation, the Bundestag. It i s for this reason that Ralph Tymms says that "Vienna—the one only
3
'Kaiserstadt'—was in a sense the capital of Germany." Because the
waltz i s generally associated with Vienna, we w i l l consider i t a musical
national emblem of both Germany and Austria .
A s p i r i t of escapism dominated the German lands in the f i r s t half
of the nineteenth century. The new benefits of the wave of l iberalism
unleashed by the French Revolution and aided by industrialism were matched 4
by new abuses. The cobblers' revolt in Austria in 1811 was a small
portent of what was to come in 1848, and the Napoleonic wars which were
waged in the name of extending the l i b e r a l reforms of the French Revolu
tion ended in despotism leaving Europe ravaged and dis i l lus ioned. The
conservative reaction of almost every major country was never more
strongly manifest than with the Metternich regime in Austria .
The aim of this regime was the abolit ion of the l i b e r a l reforms of
Joseph II (1780-1790) and a return to the autocratic absolutism of Maria
38
Theresa's rule (1740-1780).^ In this period, the Hapsburg Empire was
secure and class relationships, however hierarchically s t r a t i f i e d , were
stable.^
The period 1815 to 1848, the Biedermeier epoch, i s often referred
to as "The Golden Age of Vienna,"^ yet i t was a period of severe p o l i t i c a l
repression, as Robert Schumann attests. Writing to H. Hirschback from
Vienna (May 31, 1839), he says, "You were quite right in your former g
opinions about Vienna: one does not dare say what one thinks." Through
censorship—both p o l i t i c a l and artistic—Metternich was able to isolate
Austria from revolutionary forces within: the only meaningful dissent
which emanated from the students mil i ta t ing for enfranchisement and con-9
s t i tut ional government was quickly suppressed. S c h i l l e r ' s William T e l l
was banned"^ because of i t s p o l i t i c a l implications. Austria was i s o
lated from revolutionary forces from without by the res t r ic t ion of
t ravel . By and large, these repressive measures met with l i t t l e
resistance.
A complacent, a p o l i t i c a l temper characterized the Biedermeier epoch
i n Austria : the bourgeoisie shunned c i v i c concerns and compensated by
idealizing the commonplace such as home, family, friends, and simple
s o c i a b i l i t y . Entertainment, which was ideally suited to intensify
apathy and encourage the escapism of a cheap t h r i l l , was the order of
the day. Authors, prevented through censorship from identifying with
practical r e a l i t y , took refuge in the fairytale and personalized l y r i c ,
and Schundromantik (cheap f i c t i o n purveyed to the circulating l ibraries)
glutted the market. Popular theatre (vaudeville and burlesque)
actually undermined the serious efforts of the great German dramatists,
while in the opera Rossini and Meyerbeer provided the Scheinwelt which
39
appealed to the s p i r i t of escape. In the fine arts , the popularity of
genre painting of local customs, costumes, and landscape reflected this
society's remoteness from social and p o l i t i c a l criticism,"'"''' a fact which
i s emphasized in their reverence for the waltz, which according to
Heinrich Laube was to the Viennese what the Napoleonic victories had been
12
to the French. These mundane pursuits were encouraged by the
Metternich regime, part icularly music and dancing. While the visual
and l i te rary arts were watched closely, music and dancing were considered
at worst harmless, and at best an effective opiate. As Frances Trollope
said in her memoirs published in 1838: Far from checking this universal s p i r i t of gaiety, the wise government of Austria fosters i t , as one of the surest means of keeping the minds of people from . . . gloomy discontent .^
Art is ts who created for the Biedermeier sensibi l i ty—for example the
novelist Adalbert S t i f t e r , the painter Moritz von Schwind, and the musi
cians Joseph Lanner, Johann Strauss, and Franz Schubert—were affection
ately received by the bourgeoisie citizens for whom their work was
14
intended, and encouraged by the government of Austria who saw this art
as an effective tool with which to divert the attention of the populace
from the rea l i ty of c iv ic concerns.
40
Pa r t One: From the Landler to the Waltz i n the Works of Joseph Lanner, Joharin Strauss, and Franz Schubert
The Landler . . . changed comparatively l i t t l e on merging i n t o the urban and middle c l a s s w a l t z .
E r i c Blom
The waltz d i d not a t t a i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o p u l a r i t y u n t i l the peasant
dances from which i t derived were r e f i n e d i n t o the Viennese w a l t z . This
tran s f o r m a t i o n took place i n the f i r s t three decades of the nineteenth
century and i s g e n e r a l l y considered to be the achievement of Joseph
Lanner, Johann Strauss, and to some degree Franz Schubert.
We w i l l e l u c i d a t e the above f i r s t , by e s t a b l i s h i n g the r e l a t i o n s h i p
of the music of the Landler to i t s gestures and s o c i a l m i l i e u , and
secondly, by examining the g e s t u r a l and musical transformations of the
Landler which f i n a l l y r e s u l t e d i n the w a l t z .
A. The Landler: I t s Gestures and i t s Music
The Landler was a p r i m i t i v e , r u s t i c dance, the gestures and
mus i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of which were shaped by f a c t o r s which predated
i t s appearance as an independent dance. The dance tunes which accom
panied the Landler were once sung or played on f i d d l e s and wind i n s t r u
ments and were intended to accompany stereotyped manual work and f e r t i l
i t y r i t e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t :
In T r a n s y l v a n i a dancers leap h i g h i n the a i r i n order to make the crops grow t a l l ; elsewhere women jump over newly planted crops to ensure the l a t t e r ' s f e r t i l i t y . - ' - - '
The hopping and stamping of the Landler i m i t a t e d i t s o r i g i n s i n a
s t y l i z e d manner. S i m i l a r l y , other tunes grew out of hunting c a l l s and 16
the work songs of boatmen and blacksmiths.
41
The slow tempo of the L a n d l e r , J - = 48, was d i c t a t e d by i t s s e t t i n g
and g e s t u r a l movements. I t was the custom i n a r u r a l environment to
dance out of doors on rough ground, hence heavy f o o t w e a r — h o b n a i l e d boots-
were r e q u i r e d . The gestures i n v o l v e d the passing of the couples under
one another's arms and the throwing of the female over the male's s h o u l
der. The combination of gestures and heavy footwear n e c e s s i t a t e d the
slow tempo.^
The rhythmic c h a r a c t e r of the dance a l s o owed much to i t s o r i g i n s .
The manual work which the dance tunes accompanied r e q u i r e d a marked and 18
r e g u l a r rhythm because of the mechanical labour i n v o l v e d . Conse
q u e n t l y , the Landler has a square, s t o l i d c h a r a c t e r brought about by the
f a c t t h a t the three beats tend to be accented s e p a r a t e l y ( d i v i s i o n occurs
w i t h i n the b e a t ) , w i t h the stamped emphasis on the second beat not being
uncommon. Th i s can be seen i n the f o l l o w i n g example from Mozart's
Sechs L a n d l e r i s c h e Tanze, No. 3:
Example #1
42
Melodies which accompanied the Landler were diatonic and character-
19
ized by wide-spaced intervals which primarily outlined t r iadic harmony.
They have their roots i n the construction and p o s s i b i l i t i e s of the
instruments on which they were played: the alphorn, shepherd's pipe,
and chalameau. These instruments stressed the natural intervals of the
octave, fourth, and f i f t h , producing a type of melody i l l u s t r a t e d i n the
following example : ^
Example #2
1 3 5 Of*
m r /pi 1J ^ri ir J J J |Nj
The term "Dudeln" which appears i n this example indicates that i t was to
be played on a dudelsack (bagpipe). The term "Yodeln" would also com
monly appear as an appendix to Landler tunes thus also suggesting a d e r i
vation from alpine yodell ing. These "forest cr ies" were uttered so
forceful ly that the voice skipped over into the octave, double octave,
seventh, f i f t h , fourth, and thi rd , as the following example of a Styrian
21
forest cry (Waldgschroa) reveals:
Example #3
It i s a melodic characteristic f a i t h f u l l y adhered to by Mozart i n No. 6
of his Sechs Landlerische Tanze:
Example #4
O ,_',.t ; . 1 1 m ! ' |
w *
1 ! 1 i
[ —* • •#• * -s- • * * *
i *
V 1 « ' 1 1
Simplicity of melody i s supported by an equally simple approach to
harmony and form, and this i s reflected i n Mozart's Sechs Landlerische
Tanze (see Appendix I) considered by Eduard Reeser to be "true c l a s s i c a l 22
examples of the Landler ." We observe that a l l six dances are i n major
keys, for as Er ic Blom says, "Austrian dances are rarely i n minor keys
23
even i n the form cultivated by the c l a s s i c s . " We also observe the
most simple of the binary dance forms: two eight-measure periods
repeated. Because early waltzes were short, the tediousness of a con
t inual repeti t ion caused composers to string them together in sets con
s is t ing of six to twelve dances. They were further extended by the
practice of adding a t r io or alternativo to each main dance on the model
of a minuet and t r i o , with the whole set rounded off by a coda. These
early suites, however, usually had no inner unity: there was no melodic 24
connection or l o g i c a l sequence of keys.
The musical texture of the t r i o of the early waltz derives from
the t radi t ional instrumental combinations used by the t ravel l ing bands
who played at inns along the Danube. These bands generally consisted
of three or four instruments: two v i o l i n s , or a v i o l i n and c lar inet , a 25
guitar , and often a double bass.
44
B. The Waltz: Its Gestures and i t s Music
During the phase of the transformation of the L'andler into the
waltz, the tempo increased from = 48 to 7 6 . ^ A number of
factors were responsible for this . With the indoor setting of the
dance h a l l , hobnailed boots were no longer needed and were replaced by
l ight sl ippers . This more refined footwear was actually a requirement
27
in the dancehalls with their highly polished parquet f loors . These
two practical factors combined to encourage the accelerating speed of
the waltz, which then hindered the gestures of the Landler. Eventually
the hopping, stamping, and turning under the arm were eliminated in 28
favour of the gliding step with the couple rotating in close embrace.
Two other factors relating to the acceleration of the waltz tempo should
be considered.
Some scholars l ink the acceleration in speed to the dance mania 29
which gripped Europe in the f i r s t half of the nineteenth century. The
basis of this opinion i s an anthropological interest in the relationship
of dance manias and social turmoil. Frances Rust traces the re la t ion
ship between psychopathological dances of primitive societies where 30
dancing develops 'out of frenzy and extreme neuropathic disturbances,"
and the dance madness which characterized two epochs: the dance mania
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—a response to the devasta-31
tion of the black death; and the dance mania of the nineteenthucentury—
a response to the social turmoil caused by the French Revolution and the
32 Napoleonic wars. The dance mania of the latter period is further attested to by the fact that by 1797 there were 684 public dance halls
33 in France, and during the carnival season in Vienna i n 1832, 772 balls
34 were given (nearly half of the population is said to have attended).
This i s further confirmed by a statement made by the German conductor,
Johann Reichardt, following the Napoleonic wars: "The love of dancing 35
here i s now i n t e n s i f i e d to the point of becoming a mania."
Another factor i n f l u e n c i n g the compulsion to frenzied dance was the
penchant for virtuoso dance e x h i b i t i o n s . Adolphe Bauerle, a Viennese
wri t e r , described t h i s phenomenon: It was the fashion to be a dashing dancer and the man had to w h i r l h i s partner with the greatest possible speed from one end of the h a l l to the other. If one round of the immense h a l l would have been considered s u f f i c i e n t , one might have allowed t h i s bacchantic dance to pass. But the c i r c u i t had to be made s i x to eight times at top speed and without pause. Each couple endeavoured to top the performance of the other. . . .36
In 1837 the Sperl (the dance h a l l made famous by Johann Strauss, Sr.)
started i t s noted champagne b a l l s where b o t t l e s of French champagne were . j . . 37
given as prizes f or v i r t u o s i t y m dance competitions.
The music which accompanied the waltz was gradually r e f i n e d i n t h i s
new s o c i a l s e t t i n g . This dance, which characterizes the Biedermeier
period, i s not the sophisticated, a r i s t o c r a t i c waltz music we associate
with the era of Johann Strauss, J r . "The true Viennese Gemutlichkeit with the flavour of beer, rather than the heady wine of the l a t e r
38
waltz" i s captured by the waltz i n i t s t r a n s i t i o n a l phase between the
Landler and the f i n a l form of the Viennese waltz. We w i l l f i r s t con
sider the degree to which the waltzes of Schubert, Lanner, and Strauss
evoke the r u s t i c t r a d i t i o n , and then examine the transformations of t h i s
t r a d i t i o n which resulted i n the waltz as we know i t .
The l i n k with the r u s t i c waltz i s immediately evident when we
r e c a l l that contemporaries did not d i s t i n g u i s h among the various desig
nations of the same dance. This c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i s most pronounced i n
Schubert who, as has been previously stated, did not discriminate between
the t i t l e s Landler, Deutsch, or Walzer. His most immediate follower,
Lanner, at f i r s t i s not particular about the t i t l e s he gives his dances,
c a l l i n g them Landler, Deutsch, or by the cognate Styrian. It i s not
39
u n t i l Op. 7 that he uses the t i t l e "waltz" and then not consistently.
The key to what we c a l l a waltz l i e s i n the gradual establishment of the
guitar bass as i t s chief feature:
Example #5 • m
• • II rp #
• — i ,
While this feature i s found more frequently i n Schubert's dances of the
40
waltz-type than i n any of his predecessors, he c learly does not con
sciously associate i t with works called waltz. For example, i n the
twelve waltzes and seventeen Landler of Op. 18 (D.145), the guitar bass
appears i n both genre, but i s more prominently featured i n those dances
called L'andler than i n those called Walzer. On the other hand, the
guitar bass i s present in Johann Strauss' waltzes from Op. 1, and his
works suffer from no etymological ambivalence: they are simply called
waltzes.
The rust ic t radit ion of the waltz i s apparent in other aspects of
the music of this t ransi t ional period. Melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic
treatment evoke this dance's simple or igins , as does the treatment of
form and orchestration. Diatonic melodies which move predominantly i n
quarter and eighth notes evoke the square rhythmic character of the
early waltz. This feature dominates Schubert's dances of the waltz-
type, an example of which i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n D. 378, No. 3:
47
Example #6
An examination of the works of Strauss and Lanner reveals similar char
a c t e r i s t i c s , but only i n the very early works. For instance, the follow
ing two excerpts from Lanner's Dornbacher Landler, Op. 9, and Strauss'
Tauberln-Walzer, Op. 1, exhibit the square approach to rhythm character
i s t i c of the rust ic waltz.
Example #7: Lanner—Dornbacher Landler, Op. 9, #3
48
Example #8: Strauss—Tauberln-Walzer, Op. 1, #1
The melodic treatment in Lanner's dance i s diatonic, but Strauss' piece
exhibits a tendency toward chromaticism characteristic of the f u l l y
developed Viennese waltz.
The treatment of form i s another indication of the t ransi t ional
phase of the waltz, par t icular ly i n the works of Schubert and occasion
a l l y i n the works of Lanner. There i s , by and large, l i t t l e formal inno
vation i n Schubert's dances of the waltz-type; a l l but 59 of his 313
dances have the simple binary form of the early waltz. Most of the others
are i n asymmetrical binary form > with the odd one i n o+o lo+lo
rounded binary form (see Op. 50, D. 779, No. 3). A real ternary form
as i n D. 366, No. 1, i s an exception as are the two rondo forms of
49 41
D. 820. There are no extended introductions or codas in Schubert's
waltzes. The brevity of the individual dances i s a factor which l i k e l y
resulted in their publication in large sets of twelve, thirty-two, or
t h i r t y - s i x , thus evoking the large and varied set combinations of the
earliest waltz publications. It i s speculated that Schubert i s known to
have composed i n sets, but the publishers of the time tended to ignore
this , eliminating, substituting, and adding to sets at w i l l . A case in
point i s D i a b e l l i ' s posthumous publication of Schubert's Op. 127, where
contrary to the t i t l e "last Waltzes" some earl ier waltzes are included.
Moreover, some sections of the or iginal collection have been transposed, 42
some omitted, and the order changed. On the other hand, D. 420, a
collection of twelve German Dances with a logical key scheme, i s obviously
an intended set. We know that Op. 171, D. 790, i s a set of twelve
German Dances published by Brahms with f i d e l i t y to Schubert's wishes.
From these two publications we can determine that Schubert, when thinking
i n terms of a set or suite, possibly conceived of them in groups of
twelve, thus evoking the size of the early Landler publications in the
late eighteenth century.
Lanner's and Strauss' treatment of form underscores the inconsis
tency of the waltz "suite" during the early nineteenth century. The
former does not desert the simply binary form u n t i l Op. 15, Vermahluns-
walzer, where he expands the form to the sixteen measure period one finds
i n most of his works. In the works of both, one witnesses a further
development in the transition to what was to become the standard number
of dances i n the waltz suite, namely, f i v e . Up u n t i l Op. 64 (1832)
Lanner wrote suites consisting of six waltzes; prior to Op. 3 Strauss
wrote suites consisting of seven waltzes.
50
By the 1830's the waltz was the most popular dance . in the upper
echelons of society, having acquired a musical refinement consistent with
i t s new environment. The refinement in the gestures and the setting of
the waltz were accompanied by musical transformations which resulted i n
the s ignif icant distancing of the dance from i t s or ig ins . Extreme
melodic leaps and wide intervals succumbed to conjunct progressions com
plete with chromatic nonharmonic tones, as i l l u s t r a t e d by the following
passage from Joseph Lanner's Die Romantiker, Op. 167, No. 3:
Example #9
When the melody i s disjunct , far from being an evocation of yodell ing,
as was often the case with the rustic waltz, i t i s rather an outgrowth
associated with vir tuosic v i o l i n improvisations: Lanner and Strauss
were not your common tavern v i o l i n i s t but the v i o l i n v i r t u o s i of popular
music. The following excerpt from Lanner's Die Vorstadter, Op. 195
i l l u s t r a t e s the v i o l i n i s t i c f iguration which dominated the melodic impetus 43
of the Viennese waltz:
Example #10
51
Other v i o l i n i s t i c effects commonly used include the exploitation of open
strings (this explains the frequent choice of G, D, A, and E as the main
keys of the whole waltz set) , double stops, and tunes played on the
fourth string with different bowing effects such as legato, staccato,
44 spiccato, saltando, and sul ponticel lo .
With regard to rhythm, "the staccato of the Landler changed to the
45
glissando of the waltz . " The evenness of the three beats of the
Landler gave way to an over-emphasis of the f i r s t beat. This was accom
plished by the emergence of the staple accompaniment figure most strongly
suggestive of the waltz—the guitar bass (see example No. 5), which seems
to have emerged at roughly the same time as the speed of the waltz
increased: the guitar bass i s an idiom which i s natural to the guitar ,
and because the role of this instrument in the context of the dance band
was to provide the accompaniment (to define the three basic beats of the
dance), we conclude that the or igin of the guitar bass was probably a
natural response, based on ease of execution, to the increase in the
speed of the waltz. The emphasis this accompaniment gave to the f i r s t
beat was intensif ied by the Viennese custom of anticipating the second
46
beat. In the following example, a) represents what might be written,
and b) the performance practice:
Example #11
52
The u n i f o r m i t y o f t h e r i g i d t r i p l e r h y t hm o f t h e r u s t i c w a l t z was f u r t h e r
d i s s i p a t e d by " a f u n d o f r h y t h m i c . . . d e v i c e s — s o m e t i m e s m e r e l y ' g i m -
i c k s ' — w h i c h dom ina ted t h e s ub sequen t h i s t o r y o f t h e w a l t z . T h e
f o l l o w i n g examp le s on page 5 3 , g l e a n e d f r o m an a n a l y s i s o f t h e a v a i l a b l e
w o r k s o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s i n d i c a t e t h e d e g r e e o f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n w h i c h
t o o k p l a c e i n t h e a r e a o f r h y t h m . E a c h l i n e r e p r e s e n t s a d i f f e r e n t
r h y t h m i c c h a r a c t e r ; v a r i e t y f o r i t s own sake dom ina ted t h e w a l t z e s o f
L a n n e r and S t r a u s s . I f we f o c u s on t h e l a s t example f r o m L a n n e r , we
see t h a t t h e r e s u l t o f t h i s q u e s t f o r r h y t h m i c v a r i e t y i s a b a s i c i r r e g u
l a r i t y i n t h e m e l o d i c l i n e : t h e f i r s t b e a t i s p r o l o n g e d by t h e t i e , t h e n
s y n c o p a t e d , and f i n a l l y o m i t t e d . P r a c t i c e s l i k e t h i s a r e v e r y much a t
odds w i t h t h e r h y t h m i c c h a r a c t e r o f t h e L a n d l e r , where t h e o b j e c t o f b o t h
t h e me l ody and accompaniment was t o s t r o n g l y evoke t h e t h r e e b a s i c b e a t s
o f t h e d a n c e .
53 Example #12
Strauss Lanner
x 1 r r r
* f I C 1/ / ' I ' T""'f~
< • ! | J ! i i 1. ft| J ! »»> 11 /1 • * t
\.~\ !• ~! or v a r i a n t s r r * 1 v r;->. / / r-+ & r
i r m i FI n —/ / /—f—f—+ •
W W W
—f 11 / / 1// //
—/ / / y / t
n n i n | n i C T ' I '
c 1 « ? 1 * c 1 c ' * C !. 6 ! 1 1 i . /> f r j i f
n-ii n t \ i i. rn / / / [ . i f f
fftrtfrTf A) 5 / / / 1 f f f f
rrf 1 f f r r T
BY] *v f h f l «* r / i ' r \ t r r \r ft t I j * r ft
J, 1 J ! '
* ! > ! Y ! S I f> J // /' ' $ r f f t / 1 y / r r i r \ f r r
J ^ J 1 } \ J 1 /V J J. I ! i ! i . n , y ( > ! h n . F J .
h P ' t R r
^ ^ _ J ^ / / • { ' ' / ' ' I k ' ' / '
i , M i n i , h
^ ^ _ J ^ / / • { ' ' / ' ' I k ' ' / '
nrrn i i , i i j i // j / — £ r f c " 1 — * —
^ ^ _ J ^ / / • { ' ' / ' ' I k ' ' / '
54
A similar complexity occurs in the treatment of harmony i n the
works of Lanner, Strauss, and Schubert. The following reduction of
Lanner's Hymens-Feier Klange, Op. 115, shows a s ignificant departure from
the simple tonic/dominant harmonic plan of the early waltz:
Example #13
The neopolitan 6th i n bars nineteen and twenty-seven and the augmented
6th chord i n bar t h i r t y - f i v e indicate the harmonic sophistication of the
Viennese waltz, as does the following excerpt from Lanner's Op. 93, No.
3 which opens on two chromatic progressions (German sixths) :
Examp le #14, c o n t ' d
in a. \
fl*
Cor .UL ioF.
TVbaXU. i n f .
Trtoa.
Tim p.
Tamb.gr.
F l .
C L I .
VI. I.
VI. IL
Vic. Ch.
57
Schubert i s often more daring i n the area of harmony than Lanner and
Strauss (for reasons which w i l l be discussed later in the chapter). A
comparison of the harmonically simple fourth dance of the eight Landler
of D. 378 with the f i f t h dance of Op. 171, D. 790 indicates the extent of
the harmonic range which exists i n Schubert's waltzes.
Example #15: D. 378, No. 4
*f\ Itf J f f l p , f r i f f j
- V t ¥ - f -
4 a
' t t l
• • 4 *
1
f m 0 # 5
Example #16; Op. 171, D. 790, No. 5
58
The Landler of D. 378 Csee Example 15, p. 57) i s typical of the melodic
diatony and harmonic s implici ty of the rustic waltz i n i t s non-modulating
evocation of tonic/dominant chord progressions. The above German Dance
from Op. 171, however, despite i t s only s l i g h t l y extended form, i s f u l l
of dissonances: the retardations of bars 5 and 21;
59
the appoggiaturas of bars 9 and 11;
and the prolonged appoggiatura chords of bars 1 and 3
are but a few examples of these categories of dissonance which provide a
harmonic tension t o t a l l y at odds with the aesthetic of the rustic waltz.
The tension i s compounded by the chromatic al terat ion of chords which
repeat the opening theme i n this rounded binary form, thus evoking the
subtle shi f t from major to minor that i s so characteristic of Schubert's
sophisticated s tyle :
60 The i n i t i a l casting of this dance in a minor key i s important. Ten of
Schubert's waltzes feature the minor key in one half of the form, but
twenty are cast sol idly in this mode with the result that a melancholy
mood is introduced into the waltz: "Lanner and Strauss never wrote a
waltz in a minor key; i t would have seemed a paradox to them. . . .
48 Schubert knew that nothing i s sadder than a sad waltz.
Harmonic affect i s intensified by the practice of beginning the
waltz outside the key, for example in Op. 171, No. 3, and by a modulatory
scheme which i n many instances departs from the f i f th- re la ted modulations
that dominate the rustic waltz and the majority of Lanner's and Strauss'
waltzes. Schubert primarily favours the third relationship as in the
following example from Op. 127:
62
The new social milieu of the waltz generated a transformation i n
the l i t t l e dance band which customarily played the waltz tunes. For,
as expected, the large dance hal ls required increased orchestral resources.
In 1818 the t r i o of Joseph Lanner's orchestra, which consisted of two
v i o l i n s and a guitar , was expanded to a quintet with the addition of a
cel lo and a v i o l a (played by Johann Strauss). By 1824 the quintet had
expanded to a string orchestra, and by 1825 the Lanner orchestra was so
popular that, unable to meet the public demand for i t s services, Lanner
was forced to divide the orchestra, putting Strauss in charge of the
second hal f . By this time the ensemble had grown to the size of a f u l l
c l a s s i c a l orchestra complete with winds, brass, and timpani. A compari
son of Lanner's Dornbacher Landler, Op. 9 (example 18), and Die Schon-
brlinner, Op. 200 (example 19), i l l u s t r a t e s this expansion:
Example #18
Dornbacher Landler
Violino I
Violino Et
Violino rn
Contrabasso
Nr. 1 Op. 9 (vor 1825)
ss- 1 1 !ri " .1 * i ..j. - . * * —*— * - * * |« • r*
u 1 •j *
.jij?..S:i i
JT-JC- KTT— m *
J .. 11 i ' i - — 1
63
Example #19
Fragment aus den „Schonbrunnern" nach der Originalpartitur der „Minutenspiele"
Minutenspiele Nr. 11 i Walzer Tempo
Solo
Clarinerto I
Clarioerto II in A
Fagotti
Co mi I H in E
Contrabasso
This orchestral expansion was echoed by a standardization and
expansion of the form of the waltz suite in the works of Lanner and
Strauss. Conforming to the c l a s s i c a l dance suite , the number of dances
i n the set was reduced from six and seven (Lanner favoured s ix , Strauss
seven before standardization occured) to f i v e . The individual dances
were extended from two eight measure periods to two sixteen measure
periods, and the suite was further expanded to include lengthy introduc
tions and codas, as we witness with the 101 bar coda of Strauss'
Elizabethan Walzer, his 30 bar introduction to Die Philomelen-Walzer,
64
Op. 82, Lanner's 137 bar coda in Die Schonbrunner, Op. 200, and his 34
bar introduction to Die Werber, Op. 103.
C. Conclusion
The Viennese waltz evolved during the f i r s t few decades of the nine
teenth century, acquiring the basic characteristics which were to be
associated with i t u n t i l the end of i t s reign as Queen of the Dance i n
49
1914. Part one of chapter- three has focussed on the musical impact
of the transformation in the waltz's setting and gestures. The refinement
in dress and environment was marked by a similar musical refinement:
angular, diatonic melodies gave way to more conjunct, chromatically
inflected ones; the slow tempo and square, simple rhythm of the Landler
were abandoned in favour of the faster tempo and varied rhythmic charac
ter of the Viennese waltz. Similarly , in the area of harmony, the simple
tonic/dominant relationships of the Landler were complicated by chrom
aticism, to satisfy the desire for a more sensuous sound ideal . In the
works of Lanner and Strauss, the waltz suite was standardized to a set
of f ive dances with an introduction and coda. F i n a l l y , the expansion
of the dance ensemble from a quartet to the size and constituency of a
c lass ica l orchestra reflected the waltz's new concert h a l l setting and
epitomized the degree to which this dance had become distanced from i t s
basic origins .
While we have cited some of the more obvious reasons for the trans
formation of the Landler into the Viennese waltz, we contend that there
are other factors involved. Part two of chapter three w i l l examine the
cultural significance of this evolution.
65 P a r t Two: The T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e W a l t z a s a
R e f l e c t i o n o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r Z e i t g e i s t
Over each new w a l t z t h e j o u r n a l s seem t o go i n t o r a p t u r e s ; i n n u m e r a b l e a r t i c l e s a p p e a r e d about L a n n e r and S t r a u s s • . . l o n g e r . . . t h a n t h o s e d e v o t e d t o B e e t h o v e n and M o z a r t . . . . t h e s w e e t l y i n t o x i c a t i n g t h r e e - f o u r r h y t hm w h i c h t o o k h o l d o f heads and f e e t e c l i p s e d g r e a t and s e r i o u s m u s i c , and made t h e a u d i e n c e i n c r e a s i n g l y u n f i t - fo r any i n t e l l e c t u a l e f f o r t .
Edua rd H a n s l i c k
I n t r o d u c t i o n
The w a l t z e s o f Jo seph. L a n n e r , Johann S t r a u s s , and F r a n z S c h u b e r t
d i f f e r f r o m t h e r u s t i c L a n d l e r - w a l t z w h i c h swept t o p r o m i n e n c e a t t h e
t u r n o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y under t h e banne r o f a Roman t i c i d e a l i z a
t i o n o f t h e s i m p l e and t h e n a t u r a l . T h e i r wo r k s a r e u r b a n w a l t z e s ,
a f f e c t e d as t h e y were by a s o c i a l m i l i e u dom ina ted by t h e c u l t u r a l
v a l u e s o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e . I n t h i s p o r t i o n o f c h a p t e r t h r e e we w i l l
examine t h e c u l t u r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e w a l t z e s o f L a n n e r , S t r a u s s , and
S c h u b e r t , c o n t e n d i n g t h a t t h e y a r e m u s i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s c o f B i e d e r m e i e r
a r t .
The t e r m B i e d e r m e i e r was c o i n e d i n l i t e r a t u r e and has s i n c e been
a p p l i e d t o t h e f i n e a r t s and f u r n i t u r e s t y l e s . I t has n o t been a p p l i e d
t o m u s i c i n any s i g n i f i c a n t way; v a r i o u s w r i t e r s s i m p l y s t a t e t h a t t h e
w a l t z was a s ymbo l o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t w i t h o u t e x p l i c a t i o n . T h e r e
f o r e , we w i l l f i r s t f o c u s on B i e d e r m e i e r a r t , and l i t e r a t u r e p a r t i c u l a r l y ,
f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f d e f i n i n g t h e t e r m and e s t a b l i s h i n g c r i t e r i a f o r j u d g
i n g t h e m u s i c .
P a r t two o f c h a p t e r t h r e e i s s u b d i v i d e d i n t o two s e c t i o n s . S ub
s e c t i o n A , e n t i t l e d " T h e B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t , " i s a n e x t e n s i o n o f t h e g e n e r a l
i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h i s c h a p t e r where t h e h i s t o r i c a l f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e
66
Beidermeier epoch was established. Here we define the term Beidermeier
by examining i t s origin and i t s manifestations in art , furniture styles,
and l i terature . Subsection B, entitled "The Transformation of the Waltz
as a Reflection of the Biedermeier Zei tgeis t , " deals with the waltz as a
Janus-faced symbol of this epoch: here we contend that the waltz had a
public and a private face, the former represented by Lanner and Strauss,
and the latter by Schubert—a situation which closely paralleled a basic
duality in the Biedermeier c i t i z e n ' s psychology.
A. The Biedermeierzeit
Gayest feasting, banquets, dances Brimfull tankards, snowy necklines Sweetest rest and deepest peace In the land of Phaeacians
Of the writing on the wall Of the mene takel warning Of that ogre p o l i t i c s Happy Vienna had no inkling.50
The verse above by the poet Eduard von Bauernfeld (a member of
Schubert's intimate c i r c l e of friends) sums up the ostrich mentality and
carefree, hedonistic temper of Gemutlichkeit which are hallmarks of the
Biedermeier s p i r i t .
The word Biedermeier i s a compound of bieder suggesting a contemp
tuous sense of "worthy," and Meier (or i t s variants Meyer, Maier, Mayer)
which i s a common surname.^ The term was retrospectively coined in the
second half of the nineteenth century in l i te rary parodies, known as
Biedermeierlieder, of the parochial, a p o l i t i c a l l ives of the wealthy
52
complacent German burghers. Biedermeier was the pseudonym under
which Ludwig Pfau (1821-1894), c r i t i c and poet, published some of the
writings of a poor v i l lage schoolmaster, Samuel Friederich Sauter
67 53
(1766-1846). S a u t e r ' s w r i t i n g s have been v a r i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d a s " n a i v e
54 55 m o r a l i z i n g " and " r e l i g i o u s l y t i n g e d n a t u r e p o e t r y , " some o f w h i c h
P f a u p u b l i s h e d unde r t h e t i t l e S e l e c t e d Works o f W e i l a n d G o t t l i e b
B i e d e r m e i e r . However , t h e y made t h e i r f i r s t a p p e a r a n c e i n F l i e g e n d e
56
B l a t t e r , a M u n i c h humorous w e e k l y , i n 1855. The a t t i t u d e s o f H e r r
B i e d e r m e i e r so p a r a l l e l e d t h o s e o f t h e s e l f - r i g h t e o u s , a p o l i t i c a l
b o u r g e o i s i e o f t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t h a t h i s name was
g i v e n t o a p e r i o d and a s t y l e .
The B i e d e r m e i e r epoch o f V i e n n a i s n o s t a l g i c a l l y spoken o f a s i t s 57 58
" G o l d e n A g e , " t h e " l a n d o f i d y l l i c e s c a p e . " D u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d , t h e
b o u r g e o i s i e were a b l e t o c r e a t e t h e i l l u s i o n o f a s e c u r e , u n t r o u b l e d
e x i s t e n c e d e s p i t e t h e many s o c i a l p r o b l e m s w h i c h e v e n t u a l l y l e d t o t h e
r e v o l u t i o n s o f 1848 and t h e r e p r e s s i v e p o l i c i e s o f t h e M e t t e r n i c h r e g i m e .
59
H a v i n g r i s e n r a p i d l y t o a p o s i t i o n o f f i n a n c i a l s e c u r i t y , t h i s c l a s s ,
smug i n i t s c o m f o r t , c o n s c i o u s l y c u l t i v a t e d a code o f e x i s t e n c e d e s i g n e d
t o s h u t o u t l i f e ' s h a r s h r e a l i t i e s . T h e i r c o m p l a c e n t a t t i t u d e t owa rd
c i v i c c o n c e r n s was compensated on t h e one h a n d , by a s e n t i m e n t a l i d e a l
i z a t i o n o f t h e i r i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s , and on t h e o t h e r hand , by t h e a d o p
t i o n o f an a t t i t u d e t owa rd l i f e w h i c h had a l l t h e ea rma rk s o f t h e c a r p e -
d i em i m p e r a t i v e , " e a t , d r i n k , and be m e r r y . " By d o c u m e n t i n g t h i s phenom
enon t h r o u g h an e x a m i n a t i o n o f l y r i c s and p a i n t i n g s c l a s s e d as B e i d e r -
m e i e r , i t w i l l be p o s s i b l e t o r e l a t e i t t o t h e w a l t z , t h e dance c o n s i d e r e d
by some t o be t h e most p o t e n t s ymbo l o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r z i e t .
The B i e d e r m e i e r s p i r i t i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n t h e b r o a d e s t s en se by a
d u a l i t y o r an a n t a g o n i s m between t h e p u b l i c and p r i v a t e domains o f l i f e ,
a c o n f l i c t w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n a r e n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e e x t e r n a l w o r l d and an
60 i d e a l i z a t i o n o f t h e p r i v a t e w o r l d . T h i s c o n t r a c t e d w o r l d v i e w was
68
manifested i n a f e t i s h i s t i c reverence for the home and. intimate re la t ion
ships. For the Biedermeier, home became an asylum from the pressures
of the external world, as i s reflected in Faust where Goethe has a p e t i t -
bourgeoisie say:
On Sundays, holidays, there's naught I take delight, Like gossiping of war, and war's array, When down in Turkey far away The foreign people are a-f ighting. One at the window si ts with glass and friends, And sees a l l sorts of ships go down the river g l iding , And blesses then as home he wends At night our times of peace abiding.61
The home, -.casual and comfortable, i s the setting for Friedrich von
Amerling's Rudolph von Arthabur and His Children (1837) (see Appendix II) ,
62
a typical example of the genre painting popular at this time. Here,
middle class family l i f e i s sentimentally idealized. The decor of the
room is the antithesis of courtly elegance with i t s homely clutter . The
furniture with i t s curved legs, natural wood, cloth upholstery has many
aspects of the popular nineteenth century furniture style known as
63 Biedermeier. The petit-bourgeoisie "did not build a palace, though he might have had the means to do so. He was content with a comfortable
64 house that was functionally suited to his needs." This pious eleva-
65
tion of t h r i f t and simplicity has a much longer t radi t ion: i t s promi
nence in the nineteenth century is due to i t s t radit ional association
with the bourgeoisie, and their ascendancy i n this period direct ly con
tributed to the "cult of domestici ty"^ which characterizes the Bieder-
67
meier epoch. The extreme of this ideal i s featured i n Jean Baptiste
Greuze The Punished Son, c. 1761 (see Appendix III) . Here, the errant
son has l i t e r a l l y worried the father into his death bed. In this
dramatic i n f l a t i o n of the domestic ideal of famil ia l duty, the private
69
and the intimate has eclipsed the public and the universal (this w i l l be
further explicated later in the chapter).
The home as a shelter image may have such symbolic equivalents as
the ' l inden t ree , ' standing for the garden surrounding the home, and
68 one's country. Such i s the case with Wilhelm M i l l e r ' s poem "Der Lindenbaum" set to music by Franz Schubert in Die Winterreise:
Beside the gates a fountain, Where stands a linden tree How oft beneath i t s shadow Came pleasant dreams to me!
And loving words I've carved upon i t s branches f a i r ; When joy was mine or sorrow, I found my solace there!
The bi t ter blasts of winter They smite upon my brow; Yet I must face the tempest; Return I"cannot now!
Aye, onward, ever onward! While ever i n my ear The linden's message l ingers : "Lo, rest and peace are here!"69
In the previous context the home image appears less optimist ical ly , along
with the archetype of the Wanderer for whom the comforts of home are
denied. The note of melancholy resignation is typical ly Biedermeier.
The ultimate aim of this imagery, however, is not pessimism: the note of
longing for the remotely attainable actually intensifies the attractive
ness of the home image.
In a milieu which idealized the intimate, the heart became the sym
bol ic equivalent of the home. Love, as the ultimate intimacy, assumed a
primary role in bourgeoisie l y r i c s . Like the home, love was set in
opposition to c i v i c d u t y . ^ It may be love for the opposite sex, or
i t might be the famil ia l love of Friedrich von Amerling's Rudolph von
70
Arthabur and His Children. And then again, i t may be an elevated ideal
of friendship as in the following l y r i c from Volksthumliche Lieder der
im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert:
I have, I have a heart, True as i s seemly Hypocrisy and pain Do not touch i t consciously! I am f a i t h f u l to my friends From the depths of my soul; I love you better brethren, Than a l l the gold in the w o r l d . ^
The pious, s l ight ly melancholy sentimentality which characterized
Biedermeier intimate relations was balanced by an equally cultivated,
escape-oriented happy soc iabi l i ty in .public l i f e . Wine was one of the
chief symbols of this s o c i a b i l i t y , and as we shall see, the waltz was
another. The following l y r i c from Sperontes Singende Muse an der Pleisse ,
Give me Burgundy! Let me have i t ! Burgundy is my l i f e : It gives me strength and energy, i f my heart i s heavy. And i f I have to do something You should f i l l the glasses; Then I can work wonders, Burgundy! Burgundy!7 2
indicates the importance of wine to the Viennese, a fact which i s sup
ported by the s ta t is t ics on alcohol consumption in the year 1900: 454,000
barrels of domestic wine, 19,000 barrels of Hungarian wine, and 382,000
73
barrels of beer.
The escapist milieu of the Biedermeier c i t izen is an i d y l l i c one
without the anxiety which characterized German Romanticism at this time,
for alienation i s too strong an emotion for him. Moderation i s the key
to his psychology, and this i s aptly summed up in the following verse,
"Modicum, ein wenig":
71
Always a bi t gaily Always a bi t thirsty Always some money in the pocket, Always some snuff to s n i f f , Always just so-so.74
B. The Symbolic Significance of the Waltz
The waltz has never changed i t s true face as one of the most symbolic expressions of the bourgeoisie.75
Walter Sorell
The waltz had both a public and private face which closely parallels
the duality in the Biedermeier's psychology. It w i l l be shown how Lanner
and Strauss represented the former, and Schubert the la t ter . These two
aspects were defined by their setting which in turn determined the musical
characteristics associated with the waltz. 1. The Public Face of the Waltz: Joseph Lanner
and Johann Strauss
The waltz played out i t s public role in the large dance hal ls and
promenade concerts which were dominated by the music of Joseph Lanner and
Johann Strauss: here, the waltz functioned as one of the primary symbols
of soc iabi l i ty of the Biedermeier epoch. Frances Trollope, in her memoirs
of 1837, reflects on the s p i r i t of gaiety which manifested i t s e l f in
universal waltzing:
. . . the whole population seems as much actuated by one common and universal feeling, as i f an i r r e s i s t i b l e spell had fa l len on the empire, enforcing them a l l to waltz. . . . Pleasure . . . appears the one sole and only object for which Austrians exist.76
The Vienneses' penchant for waltzing symbolized the enforced j o v i a l
s p i r i t with which the Biedermeier c i t izen shut out the uncongenial r e a l
i t i e s of the external world. As such i t bears a relationship to other
t r i v i a l pastimes, such as Schundromantik l i terature , which had the effect
of displacing more profound works of a r t . ^ The concerts the bourgeoisie
72
preferred were not the subscription concerts where Mozart and Beethoven
were featured, but the promenade performances of Joseph Lanner and Johann
Strauss.
The combination of the Biedermeier c i t i z e n ' s attachment to familiar ,
simple pastimes with his desire for a more elevated social status pro
duced the change i n setting which subsequently resulted in:the transforma
tion of the simple Landler into a sophisticated ballroom waltz:
Suddenly the low-ceilinged Weinstuben and ale houses became too narrow for the expansive and growing Biedermeier bourgeoisie. . . . While strenuously and awkwardly imitating the habits and mode of l i v i n g of the highborn, they missed the simple, uninhibited pleasures of a milieu which they had abandoned in pursuit of wealth and station. The dilemma was compounded by their desire not to be seen in their former locales. . . . The bourgeoisie and newly r i ch created their own places of amusement away from old friends and haunts.78
The famous dance palace, the Apollosal (described on p. 19) was one of
many elegant dance halls which sprang up in response to the status con
scious bourgeoisie's desire to social ly elevate their.entertainment mil ieu .
The rationale generally advanced to explain the refinement in the
dance points to l ighter clothing, more refined footwear, and the smooth
floors of the dancehall. Eric Blom, however, considers this far-fetched
in l ight of the fact that the " le isurely minuet" had blossomed long
before in palaces (he attributes the speeding up of the waltz to the same
inexplicable forces which resulted in the transformation of the minuet 79
into the scherzo). We share his scepticism, but primarily because the
Landler, which had been in court since the seventeenth century, had yet
undergone no such transformation. The aristocracy could engage in peasant
dancing without feeling their identity threatened—so great was the d i s
parity between the rea l i ty and the masquerade. This was not, however,
a viable attitude for the status-conscious bourgeoisie. The Landler was
associated as much with the middle class v i s - a - v i s casual tavern enter
tainment as i t was with the peasantry. We contend that the new E l i t e ' s 80
(the wealthy "bourgeois aristocracy" as they were commonly called)
conscious and unconscious desire to disassociate themselves from their
poor relations—the lower middle class and peasantry—resulted in the
transformation of the Landler into the Viennese waltz. We further
contend that many of the purely musical developments in the works of Lanner
and Strauss can be seen in this l i g h t , in their tendency to f l i r t tangen-
t i a l l y with contemporary developments in "serious" music. We w i l l
explicate this through an examination of innovations in orchestration
and form, the expansion of the emotional range of the waltz, and the
presence of the virtuosic element.
In the new quasi-symphonic milieu of the waltz, Lanner's and
Strauss' works overtly ape "serious" symphonic composition. The size
and constituency of their orchestras (see pp. 62, 63) conformed with
that of the contemporary c lass ica l symphony of the time, and the stand
ardization of the waltz suite into f ive dances evoked the c lass ica l
dance suite. Additional , non-danceable movements (introduction and
coda) which framed the suite , offered the scope for i n f l a t i n g the status
of waltz music. They have nothing to do with the o r i g i n a l , brief func
tional entrance and exit music for the dancers which one finds in the
early waltz. In their length and character they belie yet another
attempt to approximate developments in "serious" music. The codas
which are often almost as long as the waltz suite (Lanner's Die Schon-
brunrter, Op. 200, has a 137 bar coda) have a free recapitulatory and hence
developmental character. Unlike the dance music whose s t r i c t binary form
had to be maintained in deference to i t s role as an anci l lary to the
74
dance, Lanner and Strauss could indulge their fancy and experiment with
quasi-sonata style in these codas. Unlike the codas which were musically
integrated with the dance suite, the introductions were not required to
have any such overt musical connections; consequently, they enjoyed more
freedom. Haydn is evoked i n the mood of mock gravity which character
izes the introduction to Lanner's The Humorists, Op. 92. The introduc
tion to his Die Romantiker, with i t s fluctuating moods and tempi, i s l i k e
a tone poem, and the Hungarian march which introduces The Pesters, Op. 93,
departs entirely from the expected t r i p l e rhythm to capture programatic-
a l l y local colour.
This programmatic tendency i s also evident in Strauss' and Lanner's
practice of t i t l i n g their compositions. It was common to name waltz
compositions after the locale the tune was written for , as in the case
with Lanner's Die Sch'dnbrunner or Strauss' Tauberl Waltzer from the Inn
of the Two Doves; or after p o l i t i c a l and social events, such as Strauss'
Heitzinger Reunion Waltz, his Vic tor ia Waltz (for the coronation of Queen
V i c t o r i a ) , and his Taglioni Waltz (for the dancer Maria Taglioni) .
Other works were more overtly programmatic l i k e Lanner's Separation Waltz
commemorating Strauss' leaving his band to start his own, and his Die
Mozartian and The Huguenots which were based on themes by Mozart and
Meyerbeer respectively. In part, this was a practical tactic encouraged
by publishers to attract the public . On the other hand, however, i t
emulates the programmatic practice which dominated the works of "serious"
81 composers of the nineteenth century.
An intensif icat ion of feeling (subjectivity) dominates nineteenth-
century composition, and the harmonic and melodic chromaticism i n Strauss' 82
and Lanner's works brought waltz music "up to date": "Euphonius sixths
and 'sobbing' t h i r d s , combined w i t h frequent g l i s s a n d i , impart to the 83
Viennese waltz a s l i g h t l y l a n g u i d , sentimental note." Rhythm was
another area through which the emotional i n f l a t i o n of the waltz was
accomplished. The i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of the rhythmic s t r e s s on the f i r s t
beat tended to i n f l a t e the works toward the l y r i c a l , whereas the dotted
rhythmic f i g u r e i n f l a t e d them toward the m a r t i a l and the h e r o i c ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y when accompanied by f o r t e dynamics. On the other hand, a
v a r i e t y of other rhythmic p r a c t i c e s might be used f o r sheer n o v e l t y and
showmanship.
The c u l t of v i r t u o s i t y was one of the c h i e f trends of the f i r s t h a l f
of the n i n e t e e n t h century. Robert Schumann's Neue Z e i t s c h r i f t f u r Musik
provides us w i t h the documentation to demonstrate that the popular b e n e f i t concerts were dominated by innumerable v a r i a t i o n s on popular o p e r a t i c
84
themes, d e s p i t e t h e i r purveyor's l a c k of musical c r e d i b i l i t y . The
m u s i c a l prominence of L i s z t and P a g a n i n i , f o r example, l e g i t i m i z e d t h i s
trend i n the popular salon concerts, w h i l e Lanner and Strauss i m i t a t e d
i t i n the context of the low s t a t u s promenade concert. Strauss' rhythmic
p r a c t i c e s have t h i s v i r t u o s i c aim: "His strong p o i n t s were h i s racy
i r r e s i s t a b l e rhythms and the great e l a n which he imparted to h i s waltzes by piquant syncopations, dotted f i g u r e s and an abundance of t r i l l s and
85
'wrong' accents." E a r l y Romanticism tended to l i o n i z e the super-human,
and the musical v i r t u o s o was both the analogue of the Hero i n l i t e r a t u r e ,
and the h i s t o r i c a l Leader i n c i v i c a f f a i r s . Strauss was regarded along
w i t h Paganini and L i s z t as one of the important messianic f i g u r e s of h i s
day as the f o l l o w i n g account by H e i n r i c h Laube i n d i c a t e s :
76
. . . there stands the modern hero of Austria, le Napoleon austrichien, the musical director Johann Strauss. . . . The man is black as a Moor; his hair i s curly; his mouth energetic, his l i p s c u r l . . . . Typically African, too, i s the way he conducts his dances; his own limbs no longer belong to him when the desert storm of his waltz i s let loose; his fiddle-bow dances with his arms; the tempo animates his feet; . . . and the Viennese accept this passionate procedure with unexampled enthusiasm, paying such close attention to their hero and his deeds as i t would be well for the German public to pay to some other things.86
The many attempts to elevate the social status of the Viennese waltz
certainly resulted in a technical transformation of the simple Landler.
There i s , however, a dichotomy between the intention of the transformation
and the result which is typical of Biedermeier art . Essentially what we
are dealing with i s a consideration of the affective content of the
technical transformations discussed in the preceding section of this
chapter. Adjectives which are often used to characterize the waltzes of
Lanner and Strauss—sentimental, languid, melancholy—are also common
descriptions of Biedermeier l i terature and art . Under the influence of
this s p i r i t , the Landler, whose musical simplicity was echoed by a direct ,
uncomplicated emotional affect , was inflated toward the sentimental and
the melancholy. The effect of many of the innovations in form and
orchestration part icular ly , was to transform the once "earthy" robust
dance into one of the many tinsel-dressed paraphernalia (Schundromantik)
which characterized the entertainment milieu of the Biedermeier c i t i z e n .
The nature of this sentimental idealization parallels the tendency in
Biedermeier l i terature and art to "render mythical what i s merely common
87
place ." The intention i s very often profundity, but the result i s
sentimentality. A question which often arises i s : what constitutes sentimentality
in a work of art? It i s our contention, that there are a number of
technical devices of emotional i n f l a t i o n or expression which when applied
to mundane subject matter, result in sentimentality rather than profundity.
This can be readily seen by turning b r i e f l y to the fine arts . The
paintings in Appendix III and IV—The Punished Son (c. 1761) by Jean
Baptiste Greuze, and The Death of Socrates (1787) by Jacques Louis David—
depict the theme of allegiance with similar compositional techniques and
gestures.
In David's painting, Socrates, about to drain the poison cup,
stands as a symbol of allegiance to the ideal of Reason. The technical
composition of the picture which counterpoints the resolute strength of
Socrates against the more l y r i c a l and vulnerable dramatic gesturing of
his disciples i s deliberately evocative of Christ and his disc iples .
Here, the inte l lec tual idea i s equal to the form of the picture, Reason
being a universally espoused ideal of this period. Consequently, the
effect i s one of profundity.
This i s not the case with Greuze's painting where the inte l lec tual
idea i s an idealized bourgeois concept of famil ia l duty. The prodigal
son has l i t e r a l l y worried his father to death. Arnold Hauser describes
this work as an "apotheosis of the middle class family"; and this and
other works i n this genre as "sentimental family scenes, with the cursing
or blessing father, the prodigal or the good and grateful sons. . . . They
are l i te rary painting in the bad sense of the word, banal, moralizing
88
. . . i n a r t i s t i c products of the nineteenth century." Greuze's melo
dramatic staging of the composition where the stoic , s a c r i f i c i a l figure
of the father is counterpoised against the dramatically staged gestures
of anguish of the family, closely paral lels David's painting. The
78 b i b l i c a l s cene w h i c h i s a l l u d e d t o h e r e i s t h e P i e t a , an e v o c a t i o n w h i c h
u n d u l y e l e v a t e s an o t h e r w i s e w o r t h y i d e a l . The i n t e l l e c t u a l i d e a i s n o t
e q u a l t o t h e c o m p o s i t i o n a l f o r m , c o n s e q u e n t l y t h e e f f e c t i s one o f s e n t i
m e n t a l i t y .
T h i s i s p r e c i s e l y what r e s u l t s f r o m t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e L a n d l e r
i n t o t h e V i e n n e s e w a l t z . The r u r a l w a l t z whose g e s t u r e s once i m i t a t e d i n
a s t y l i z e d manner manua l work and f e r t i l i t y r i t e s v i t a l t o human s u r v i v a l ,
and whose m u s i c r e f l e c t e d t h e s e o r i g i n s was r e f i n e d i n t h e u r b a n w a l t z e s
o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s i n t o a v e h i c l e f o r mere amusement. The l o s s o f
i t s s e r i o u s s o c i a l mean ing was r e f l e c t e d i n t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n o f v i r t u o s i t y
and s u b j e c t i v i t y a s ends i n t h e m s e l v e s . The d r e s s i n g o f t h e s i m p l e dance
i n t h e g a r b o f t h e c l a s s i c a l o r c h e s t r a and c o m p o s i t i o n , was i n c o m p a t i b l e
n o t o n l y w i t h i t s r o l e a s f u n c t i o n a l dance m u s i c , b u t a l s o w i t h i t s r o l e
a s one o f t h e e s c a p e - o r i e n t e d t r i v i a l amusements o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r e p o c h .
The i n t e n t i o n o f many o f t h e s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s was p r o f u n d i t y — t h e e l e v a
t i o n o f t h e s o c i a l s t a t u s o f w a l t z m u s i c . Bu t l i k e i t s c o u n t e r p a r t s i n
l i t e r a t u r e and a r t , h i s t o r y , t hough i t has been k i n d e r t o t h e w a l t z , has
j u d g e d i t s e n t i m e n t a l .
2. The P r i v a t e F a c e o f t h e W a l t z : F r a n z S c h u b e r t
The w a l t z p l a y e d ou t i t s p r i v a t e r o l e a s t h e s t a p l e f o r m o f e n t e r
t a i n m e n t a t t h e i n t i m a t e Hausmus ik s o c i a l s o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e . I n t h i s
c o n t e x t , t h e L a n d l e r was t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o t h e k i n d o f w a l t z w h i c h r e f l e c t e d
t h e t e n d e n c y t owa rd t h e p r i v a t i z a t i o n o f l i f e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h i s a ge .
I n t h i s p r i v a t e m i l i e u , F r a n z S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s a r e c o n s i d e r e d t h e
" c h i e f e x t a n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e p o p u l a r dance m u s i c o f B i e d e r m e i e r
V i e n n a .
Schubert epitomized the Biedermeier c i t i z e n . He was born into a
large, lower middle class family which prepared him for l i f e by providing
an adequate education allowing him to pursue a vocation as schoolmaster,
and i n s t i l l e d i n him virtues which reflected the typical Biedermeier
temperament and outlook. An account of 1866 describes Schubert as " l i g h t -
hearted, disposed to make the best of his scanty income, a dut i ful and
90
obedient son, fond of society and a l l kinds of amusement." A report
published in 1957, however, i s indicative of the rather jaundiced regard
the twentieth century has for the Biedermeier epoch, for he is described
as "a creature of sentiment, naive, pure and somewhat fool i sh . . . . He
sought out neither worldly fame nor honours and preferred family affec-91
tions or the joys of intimacy to everything that sat isf ies vani ty . " Typical of the Biedermeier tendency to idealize the intimate is Schubert's
92
attachment to a small c i r c l e of friends known affectionately to one
another as the "Moonshiners." To others they were known simply as the
"Schubertians," and the Hausmusik socials where Schubert entertained were
known as "Schubertiads."
Hausmusik socials provided the intimate occasion for the casual
interaction of friends. Social climbing had no place at these events;
rather, i t was the opposite. They were unpretentious gatherings where
good friends congregated to enjoy one another and entertain themselves.
The following excerpt from the diary of a member of Schubert's c i r c l e ,
Franz von Hartmann, i s an account of a typical Schubertiad: I went to Spaun's where there was a big Schubertiad. . . . There was a huge gathering . . . including Gahy (who played gloriously a quatremains with Schubert) and Vogl, who sang almost 30 splendid songs. . . . I was moved almost to tears. . . . When the music was done, there was grand feeding and then dancing.93
80 G u s t a v K l i m t r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y v i e w e d t h e u n t r o u b l e d w o r l d o f t h e " f a l s e -
i d y l l " (a s t h e p e r i o d 1815 t o 1848 i s o f t e n c a l l e d ) i n h i s p a i n t i n g
S c h u b e r t a t t h e P i a n o , 1899, ( s ee A p p e n d i x V ) . H e r e , Hausmus ik s y m b o l i z e s
t h e " a e s t h e t i c c rown o f s o c i a l e x i s t e n c e b o t h o r d e r e d and s e c u r e . . . .
94 a B i e d e r m e i e r P a r a d i s e L o s t . "
95 S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s were a d i r e c t p r o d u c t o f t h e s e s o c i a l s . L i k e
t h e w a l t z e s o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s , t h e y were a l s o t h e r e s u l t o f i m p r o v i s a
t i o n , b u t t h e r e t h e c o m p a r i s o n end s . On t h e one h a n d , t h e y r e p r e s e n t
t h e s i m p l e , t r a d i t i o n a l dance t h e V i e n n e s e knew and l o v e d ; b u t on t h e
o t h e r h a n d , t h e y r e f l e c t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s q u i t e opposed t o t h o s e o f t h e
w a l t z k i n g s . Such t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s were g e n e r a t e d by t h e i n t i m a t e s e t t i n g
o f t h e w a l t z e s and by t h e s p i r i t o f s u b j e c t i v i t y w h i c h pe rmea ted t h e a r t
o f t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y .
We a r e r e m i n d e d o f t h e e p i g r a p h t o P a r t I o f t h i s c h a p t e r : " The
L a n d l e r . . . changed c o m p a r a t i v e l y l i t t l e on m e r g i n g i n t o t h e u r b a n and
m i d d l e c l a s s w a l t z . " The B i e d e r m e i e r c i t i z e n ' s a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e L a n d l e r
was c o m p a r a b l e w i t h h i s a t t a c h m e n t t o h i s p r i v a t e p o s s e s s i o n s . I t was
b l a t a n t l y m a n i f e s t i n h i s r e l u c t a n c e t o change s i g n i f i c a n t l y t h i s d a n c e .
Nowhere i s t h i s p r e d i l e c t i o n more e v i d e n t t h a n i n S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s
where we have a l r e a d y seen l i t t l e i n n o v a t i o n i n f o r m and r h y t h m . T h i s
c a n p a r t i a l l y be e x p l a i n e d by t h e f a c t t h a t S c h u b e r t p r e c e d e s L a n n e r and
S t r a u s s i n t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e w a l t z , b u t more i m p o r t a n t i s t h e i n f l u e n c e
o f t h e c a s u a l , i n t i m a t e s e t t i n g o f h i s d a n c e s . U n l i k e L a n n e r and S t r a u s s
who were r e q u i r e d t o f u n c t i o n i n a f o r m a l q u a s i - s y m p h o n i c c o n t e x t ,
S c h u b e r t e x p e r i e n c e d no s u c h r e s t r i c t i o n . I n t h e p r i v a c y o f h i s own
home, t h e V i e n n e s e b u r g h e r was f r e e t o r e v e l i n h i s p u r e , u n a d u l t e r a t e d
t r a d i t i o n a l e n t e r t a i n m e n t . As we have s e e n , so many o f S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s
81
ref lect this simple tradit ion (D. 378 for example). Mosco Carner feels
that Schubert's German Dances and Landler represent a far less sophist i -
96
cated tradition than those of Mozart and Beethoven.
Despite the strong evocation of the simple t radi t ion , many of
Schubert's waltzes reflect the 'cult of the intimate' characteristic of
the nineteenth century.
While Lanner and Strauss expanded the tradit ional dance band of the
waltz, Schubert contracted these forces by writing then/ for the piano,
and as Alfred Stenger says, "Das Klavier war ihm das Organ der p'erson-97
lichen Aussprache, der Intimit'at." On the one hand, this was entirely
practical as the piano was the one instrument a middle class home would
have: i t was the normal medium of accompaniment, and the most common
vehicle for transcription. This response to the popular and the common
was reflected i n the music. Schubert's waltzes are simple—entirely
accessible to pianists whose technical prowess i s restr ic ted. But on
the other hand, however easy these dances may be, many of them reflect
an untraditional introverted conception of waltz music, which prophetic
a l l y forecasts subsequent developments in the waltzes of Schumann and
Chopin.
The milieu of Schubert's dances was conducive to a more esoteric
expression of the waltz. Unlike the dances of Lanner and Strauss, they
were not necessarily required as dance music. H. E. Jacob says: We should have a wrong conception of the Schubertiaden . . . i f we were to imagine they were dance f e s t i v i t i e s . The entertainment was provided by Schubert at the piano accompanying the singer Michael Vogl in Schubert's own songs. Then there was eating and drinking and f i n a l l y Schubert would play some dance music for his friends and their partners. But Schubert himself could not dance and this may possibly be the real explanation of the non-danceable quality of his waltzes.98
82
Schubert's contribution to the transformation of the waltz l i e s in his
expressive use of the dance form. In addition to the example #16 from
Op. 171 discussed on p. 58, we offer f ive other dances to substantiate
our viewpoint.
Op. 18, D. 145, No. 1 (see p. 83) i l lus t ra tes a device of emotional
i n f l a t i o n which commonly appears in Schubert's waltzes. The juxtaposi
tion of the aggressive, rhetorical statement (bars 1-8) and the passive,
l y r i c a l reaction (bars 8-16), achieved through the extreme contrast
between the forte dynamics and square rhythm of the former, and the
affective use of suspensions and pianissimo dynamics of the la t ter ,
recal ls the opposing sides of Schubert of the sechs Grandes Marches and
the Schubert of the Moments musicaux. The inf la t ion of the waltz
99
toward the heroic-pathetic evokes Robert Schumann's predilection for
the juxtaposition of martial and l y r i c a l elements in his waltz-based
compositions.
Prophetic also, are No. 3 from Op. 171, D. 790, and No. 9 from the
Valse Sentimentales , 1 ^ Op. 50, D. 779' (see pp. 84 and 85) : we hear the
more familiar waltzes of Schumann and Chopin in the chromatic melodic
treatment of the dance from Op. 171; and the subtle rhythmic shifts
which override the barline in the example from Op. 50 are evocative of
Schumann. The effect of such affective devices i s aptly summed up by
Eduard Reeser with specific reference to Op. 50, D. 779, No. 13 (see p.
86) which he describes as "a perfect example of elegiac music, overcast
with a haze of gentle melancholy.""'"^''" The effect of the prol iferat ion
of suspensions, which i s the chief characteristic of this piece, i s to
so intensify the tension by prolonging i t s resolution that a feeling of
unresolved longing is evoked. The melancholy mood which is the result
Example #21: Op. 171, D. 790, No. 3
84
3.
=?=fFSr- 7^ fe^5 u 1 J ilrjf W) 4-
p
p— \Tr11 r r*rf--#• • r
® > i s i i
3 * 3"
t 4
i 3 = *
86
1 I tari
) m F 0 m—
i f f x ^ T T Vf 1 1 1 J 1 I E ' r ' 1 I
13.
II. J J J J - .
f f
Y A—.
-is -1 j J
11. "V7 y — •
II2. =
lj i t-*-H
87
i s not sad, but rather i t i s w i s t f u l , a more gentle emotion. The compari
son here i s to the Biedermeier l y r i c s on p. 69 with their melancholy mood
but absence of angst. In the f i n a l example, No. 36 from Op. 9, the most
simple of binary forms contains such a prol i fera t ion of dissonance that
the manner of performance, the tempo rubato, which would naturally result
from such tension, and the absence of the basic rhythm of the waltz—the
guitar bass, would discourage dancing.
Example #24: Op. 9, No. 36
It i s dances of the type shown i n the previous examples which have
generated the following opinion:
To dance them i s to degrade them. Amazement at their harmony— the swift changes from major to minor and back again to major, sometimes i n a single bar—appeals more to our imagination than to the leg muscles of the d ance. It i s not that i t i s impossible to dance these daring innovations, these suspended notes and changes of key; but their coolness, their deep solemnity makes them unsuitable. Schubert's chords are melancholy; his heartburnings, his r ippl ing sixths, his gravity . . . wrapped though they are i n his inimitable gaiety, are too heavy a compound for the dance.102
With Schubert, the waltz approached the popular miniature l y r i c
piano piece, to become a personal record of the feelings of i t s composer.
Schumann i n a le t ter to Fr iedrich Wieck (Nov. 6, 1825) described them as
88 103
"a diary of emotional reactions." Their subjective, non-functional
character forecasts the purely concert waltzes of Schumann, Chopin, and
even Liszt who in 1866 exclaimed, "Schubert!-Schubert, le musicien, le
plus, poete qui fut jamais!""*"^
The Biedermeier tendency to idealize the commonplace is as basic
to the waltzes of Schubert as i t i s to those of Lanner and Strauss. The
lat ter inflated the simple dance through the principal of expansion:
expansion i n form and texture corresponded to the intensif icat ion of the
waltz's public character, as i t progressed from rural to international
popularity, from unpretentious outdoor gatherings to the salons of the
aristocracy and the ballrooms of royalty. Schubert idealized the waltz
through the principle of contraction: by retaining the small t radit ional
form and writing for a solo instrument, he emphasized the waltz's minia
ture character. The shift ing of the domain of the waltz from rural out
door gatherings to the intimate setting of the small middle class l i v i n g
room, where i t had a more casual ro le , corresponded to the emergence of
a more subjective quality in the waltz.
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
The transformation of the waltz in the period 1800 to 1850 paralleled
a transformation in society which resulted i n the weakening of an ar is to
crat ic , feudal way of l i f e by the ascendancy of the commercialism of the
bourgeoisie.
The f i r s t chapter of this thesis examined the symbolic significance
of the rustic waltz (the Landler) for a society which was i n the process
of rejecting the sophisticated cult ivation of the eighteenth century.
At this stage of the waltz's popularity, i t was the dance symbol of a
Rousseauian philosophical attitude whose romance with the l i f e - s t y l e of
the simple peasant crystall ized in an idealization of the peasant as "the
noble savage." During this phase, the waltz was not completely accepted
by a l l levels of society, a fact which enhanced i t s philosophical appeal:
the waltz was unaccepted by the aristocracy (except in Austria) at the
turn of the nineteenth century, and consequently could be embraced as
one of the symbols of revolt against this class. The popularization of
the waltz ran para l le l with the transformation of the Landler into the
Viennese waltz.
The second chapter traced the gradual acceptance of the waltz into
the upper echelons of society. F i r s t , in order to sort out the etymo
logica l ambiguity which resulted in a myriad of names for this dance in
the early stages of i t s development, we discussed i t s origins . Secondly,
89
90 we examined t h e s o c i a l c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h saw t h e t r a d i t i o n s o f c a s u a l
t a v e r n e n t e r t a i n m e n t t u r n e d i n t o t h e l a r g e - s c a l e c o m m e r c i a l e n t e r p r i s e s ,
r e s u l t i n g i n t h e w a l t z e m p i r e s o f J o s e p h L a n n e r and Johann S t r a u s s and
t h e s ub sequen t e c l i p s e o f " s e r i o u s " m u s i c by " l i g h t " o r p o p u l a r m u s i c .
F i n a l l y , i n o r d e r t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e i m p a c t o f t h e w a l t z on s o c i e t y , we
s t u d i e d t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e w a l t z and w a l t z e l e m e n t s were a s s i m i l a t e d
i n t o " s e r i o u s " c o m p o s i t i o n .
P a r t one o f t h e t h i r d c h a p t e r i l l u s t r a t e d t h e m u s i c a l i n n o v a t i o n s
w h i c h t r a n s f o r m e d t h e L a n d l e r i n t o t h e w a l t z . B a s i c a l l y , t h e w a l t z was
n o t a d r a s t i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e L a n d l e r , r a t h e r i t was a r e f i n e m e n t .
S c h u b e r t ' s h y b r i d w a l t z e s , m e d i a t i n g a s t h e y do between L a n d l e r and
w a l t z , and t h e more s o p h i s t i c a t e d V i e n n e s e w a l t z o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s
r e p r e s e n t e d t h e d u a l r o l e , o r t h e J a n u s f a c e o f t h e w a l t z i n t h e c o n t e x t
o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t .
The w a l t z e s o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s were composed f o r a p a y i n g p u b l i c .
They were p e r f o r m e d i n huge , o s t e n t a t i o u s dance p a l a c e s and a t l a r g e
promenade c o n c e r t s . T h i s new s e t t i n g g e n e r a t e d t h e need f o r o r c h e s t r a s
i n s t e a d o f t r a d i t i o n a l s m a l l dance b a n d s , and s u b s e q u e n t l y l e d t o a
g r a n d e r c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e w a l t z s u i t e c o m p l e t e w i t h i n t r o d u c t i o n s and
c o d a s .
S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s r e p r e s e n t t h e o p p o s i t e t r e n d . They were com
po sed f o r p r i v a t e house p a r t i e s where S c h u b e r t wou l d have been an i n v i t e d
g u e s t . T h i s c a s u a l , i n t i m a t e s e t t i n g i s r e f l e c t e d i n h i s w a l t z c o m p o s i
t i o n s : w r i t t e n f o r a s o l o i n s t r u m e n t , t h e p i a n o , t h e s h o r t t r a d i t i o n a l
f o r m i s l e f t r e l a t i v e l y u n t o u c h e d . The s i m p l e h a r m o n i c and r h y t h m i c
c h a r a c t e r o f t h e L a n d l e r i s r e c a p i t u l a t e d i n many o f t h e d a n c e s , w h i l e
o t h e r s show a p e r s o n a l , s u b j e c t i v e a p p r o a c h . These l a t t e r wo r k s e n t e r e d
91
i n t o t h e s p i r i t o f t h e p o p u l a r l y r i c p i a n o p i e c e o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n
t u r y , t h u s p a v i n g t h e way f o r t h e n o n - f u n c t i o n a l s a l o n w a l t z e s o f C h o p i n
and t h e masquerade f a n t a s i e s o f Schumann ' s w a l t z c o m p o s i t i o n s .
P a r t two o f t h e t h i r d c h a p t e r examined t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o f t h e w a l t z , c o n c l u d i n g t h a t t h e y were p o t e n t s ymbo l s
o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r p e r i o d i n A u s t r i a . B a s i c t o t h e temperament o f t h i s
p e r i o d was t h e t e n d e n c y t o c l i n g t o t h e commonplace and t o e x a l t i t s
s i g n i f i c a n c e . The w a l t z e s o f L a n n e r and S t r a u s s r e f l e c t e d t h e p u b l i c
f a c e o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r z e i t . The i n f l a t i o n o f t h e s i z e and c o n s t i t u e n c y
o f t h e o r c h e s t r a , t h e g r a f t i n g o f e l a b o r a t e n o n - f u n c t i o n a l i n t r o d u c t i o n s
and codas o n t o t h e w a l t z s u i t e , and g i v i n g them p r e t e n t i o u s t i t l e s ( s u c h
as S t r a u s s ' " F o u r Temperaments " ) r e f l e c t an a t t e m p t t o e x a l t t h e common
p l a c e dance t o a c l a s s i c a l s t a t u s . S c h u b e r t ' s w a l t z e s r e f l e c t e d t h e
p r i v a t e s i d e o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r s p i r i t . P e r f o r m e d i n t h e c o z y s e t t i n g
o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e home, t h e y r e v e a l an unabashed a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e
s i m p l e t r a d i t i o n s o f A u s t r i a n e n t e r t a i n m e n t . The o n l y e l emen t S c h u b e r t
t r a n s f o r m e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y was t h e harmony, w i t h t h e e f f e c t , i f n o t p u r p o s e ,
o f c o m m u n i c a t i n g a s en se o f i n t i m a c y . He i d e a l i z e d t h e w a l t z by i n f u s i n g
i t w i t h an e m o t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e n o t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e L a n d l e r . I n
t h i s s e t t i n g t h e w a l t z became one o f t h e i d e a l i z e d s ymbo l s o f t h e B i e d e r
m e i e r ' s c h e r i s h e d p r i v a t e l i f e .
The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e L a n d l e r i n t o t h e w a l t z was a ccompan ied by
a s i g n i f i c a n t t r a n s m u t a t i o n i n t h e s y m b o l i s m o f t h e dance . The L a n d l e r
s y m b o l i z e d t h e n a t u r a l , and t h e s i m p l e ; i t s y m b o l i z e d f r eedom f r o m t h e
c o n s t r a i n t s o f t h e a r t i f i c i a l i t y o f t h e 1 8 t h - c e n t u r y c l a s s i c a l a e s t h e t i c ,
and i n t h e m ind s o f many c o n t r i b u t e d as much t o t h e u s h e r i n g i n o f a new
age as d i d t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n . The w a l t z p r o p e r grew up i n a m i l i e u
92
f a r removed f r o m i t s p e a s a n t o r i g i n s , and t h e i m p u l s e b e h i n d i t s r e f i n e m e n t
was a n y t h i n g b u t r e v o l u t i o n a r y — r a t h e r i t was an a t t e m p t t o g a i n a c c e p t a n c e
i n t o h i g h s o c i e t y as S t r a u s s ' and L a n n e r ' s w a l t z e s d e m o n s t r a t e . I t s
s y m b o l i s m had n e i t h e r t h e p r o f u n d i t y n o r t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f t h e r u s t i c
w a l t z , f u n c t i o n i n g as i t d i d a s one o f t h e p r i m a r y s ymbo l s o f a c a r p e
d i em a t t i t u d e w i t h w h i c h t h e B i e d e r m e i e r c i t i z e n sought a t l e a s t a p a r t i a l
e s c a p e f r om r e a l i t y t h r o u g h a s p i r i t o f " f o r c e d g a i e t y , and o f f e r e d t h e
d o m e s t i c i d e a l a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r u n i v e r s a l c i v i c c o n c e r n s . The w a l t z
was b o r n i n A u s t r i a d u r i n g t h e B e i d e r m e i e r e p o c h , and as W a l t e r S o r e l l
s a i d , i t " h a s n e v e r changed i t s t r u e f a c e as one o f t h e most s y m b o l i c
e x p r e s s i o n s o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e . " " ' "
Our s t u d y s i g n i f i c a n t l y deepens S o r e l l ' s o b s e r v a t i o n and s u b s t a n
t i a t e s ou r c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e w a l t z p a r a l l e l s t h e
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f s o c i e t y i n t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . Not o n l y
does t h e w a l t z p e r s e .deve l op b u t i t a l s o d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y p e r
meate s t h e s e r i o u s m u s i c o f .the c e n t u r y so t h a t beyond t h e o v e r t w a l t z e s ,
" c o v e r t " w a l t z e l e m e n t s e x e r t a s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e on m u s i c o f t h e e r a
beyond t h e B i e d e r m e i e r p e r i o d .
L i m i t a t i o n s o f t i m e and s p a c e — t h e f a m i l i a r c o n s t r a i n t s o f a
t h e s i s — h a v e r e s t r i c t e d t h i s e s s a y t o t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h e c e n t u r y .
B u i l d i n g on t h i s f o u n d a t i o n , we wou l d i n f u t u r e s t u d i e s show how t h e
w a l t z i n f u r t h e r t r a n s m u t a t i o n s was d i s t o r t e d t o m i r r o r s y m b o l i c a l l y
t h e decadence o f t h e B i e d e r m e i e r a e s t h e t i c , s o c i a l , and p o l i t i c a l i d e a l s
i n wo r k s by composer s r a n g i n g f r o m L i s z t t h r o u g h M a h l e r and R i c h a r d
S t r a u s s t o R a v e l . But t h a t i s a n o t h e r s t o r y — a n d beyond t h e s cope o f
t h i s p r e s e n t s t u d y .
93
NOTES
Introduction
''"Alfred Stenger, Studien zur Geschichte des Klavierwalzers (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lan, 1978), p. 9.
Chapter One
"''Frances Rust, Dance in Society: An Analysis of the Relationship Between the Social Dance and Society iii England from the Middle Ages to the Present Day (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969), p. 1.
2 Curt Sachs, World History of Dance (New York: W. W. Norton, 1937),
p. 391. 3
Rust, op. c i t . , p. 60
Slosco Carner, The Waltz (London: Max Parish, 1948), pp. 13-14.
^Reginald St. Johnson as quoted in Rust, op. c i t . , p. 60.
^Rust, op. c i t . , pp. 60-61.
^Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 398. 8
As quoted by Sachs, i b i d . , p. 421. Q
Paul Net t l , The Story of Dance Music (New York: Greenwood Press, 1947), p. 213.
"^Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 415. Rust, op. c i t . , p. 1.
12 Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 415.
13 Eduard Reeser, The History of the Waltz (Amsterdam: The
Continental Book Company, 1949), p. 22 "^Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 429.
"*" Mosco Carner, "Waltz," Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Eric Blom, V o l . 9 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1954), p. 166.
"^Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 429.
"^Carner, "Waltz," op. c i t . , p. 166.
18 N e t t l , op. c i t . , p. 254.
94 19 Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 428. 20
Carner, "Waltz," op. c i t . , p. 166. 21
Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 437. 22
Janos Marothy, Music and the B o u r g e b i s i s , Music and the P r o l e t a r i a n , t r a n s l a t e d by Eva R6na (Budapest: Akademiai Kiad<5, 1974), p. 233.
23
I b i d . , p. 214. 2 4 I b i d , p. 233.
I b i d . 26
Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 442. 27
See chapter one i n George L. Mosse, The C u l t u r e of Western Europe: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (n.p.: Rand McNally, 1961).
28 Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 430.
2 9 I b i d . , p. 399. 30
N e t t l e , op. c i t . , p. 254. 31
Carner, "Waltz," bp. c i t . , p. 166. 3 2 I b i d . , p. 169. 33
Sachs, op. c i t . , pp. 431-432. 34
Carner, "Waltz," op. c i t . , , p. 167. 35 .
Rust, op. c i t . , p. 69. 36
As quoted by Rust, i b i d . , p. 261. 37
Gordon Lord Byron, The Complete P o e t i c a l Works, e d i t e d by Paul Elmer More (Boston: Houghton, M i f f l i n , 1905), p. 272.
Chapter Two
''"Paul N e t t l , The Story of Dance Music (New York: Greenwood P r e s s , 1947), p. 256.
2 The sources f o r the d i s c u s s i o n of the etymology overlap. We are
indebted to Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 1, to The Oxford E n g l i s h D i c t i o n a r y , and to Webster's New World D i c t i o n a r y f o r t h i s p r e s e n t a t i o n .
3„ Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 1.
95
4 Mosco Carner, The Waltz (London: Max Parish, 1948), p. 12.
^See Frances Rust, Dance in Society (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969), p. 45 and Mosco earner's entry on "Waltz" in Grove's Dic tionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Eric Blom, V o l . 9 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1954).
^Verna Arvey, Choreographic Music: Music for the Dance (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1941), p. 222. In the Deutsche Tanze for piano duet, D. 820, the f i r s t dance i s entitled "Allemande" by Schubert. Could Schumann's "Valse Allemande" in the Carnaval Suite, Op. 9, be alluding to this eighteenth century cognate for the waltz—possibly a pertinent question in view of Schumann's indebtedness to Schubert's waltzes?
7Carner, The Waltz, p. 10. g
Net t l , op. c i t . , p. 257. 9 When Vinzena Maschek's Landerische und deutsche Tanze appeared i n
1803, a c r i t i c for a music journal thought i t a good thing Maschek had added to his Landler the phrase, " . . . t o be played more slowly than the German Dances" (Nettl, p. 257). Reeser claims further dist inct ions , contending that the German Dance was a North German dance as opposed to the Landler, a South German dance, and that the German dance was more refined (somewhat resembling the minuet) than the f o l k - l i k e Landler (Reeser, p. 36).
"^Paul Mies, Schubert Samliche Tanze (Munchen-Duisburg: G. Henle, 1956), pp. 7-8.
"^Arthur Hutchings, Schubert (London: J . M. Dent, 1945, revised 1973), p. 46.
12 Maurice Brown, Essays on Schubert (New York: Macmillan, 1966),
pp. 218-219. 13
This point w i l l be made again in part two through an examination of Schubert's music.
14
Carner in Grove's Dictionary, V o l . 9, p. 165.
"^Carner, The Waltz, p. 11.
Ibxd. 1 7 Carner , op. c i t . , pp. 33-34.
18
I b i d . , p. 16.
1 9 Carner , Grove's Dictionary, op. c i t .
2 0 Carner , The Waltz, p. 14.
96 2 1 I b i d . 22
I b i d . , p. 12. 23
Heinrich. Edward Jacob, Johann Strauss: Father and Son. A Century of L i g h t Music, t r a n s l a t e d by M. Wolff (Richmond: The W i l l i a m B i r d P r e s s , 1940), p. 17.
2 A Egon Gartenberg, Vienna: I t s M u s i c a l Heritage ( U n i v e r s i t y Park:
Pennsylvania State U n i v e r s i t y P r ess, 1968), p. 93. 25
Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 23. 26
W i l l i a m Weber, Music and the Middle Class (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1975), p. 108.
27 Gartenberg, op. c i t . , p. 44.
2 ^ I b i d . , p. 45. 29
H e i n r i c h , op. c i t . , p. 44. 30
Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 40.
l o r i t z Karasowski, F r e d e r i c Chopin: His L i f e , L e t t e r s , and
Works, V o l . I I , t r a n s l a t e d by Emily H i l l (London: W i l l i a m Reeves,
3 1 M c
1879), pp. 195-196. 32 Weber, op. c i t . , the e n t i r e book.
33
I b i d . , p. 113.
I b i d . 35
Joseph Pastene, Three-Quarter Time: The L i f e and Music of the Strauss Family of Vienna (New York: Abelard, 1951), pp. 21-22.
36 Carner, op. c i t . , p. 37.
37 Quoted i n Verna Arvey, Choreographic Music: Music f o r the Dance
(New York: E. P. Dutton, 1941), p. 228. 38
This number i s based on Mies' p u b l i c a t i o n of Schubert's piano w a l t z e s , op. c i t . Excluded are twenty-six o r c h e s t r a l waltzes which a l s o appear i n t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n (only the melody i s given as o r c h e s t r a l t r a n s c r i p t i o n s c o n t a i n too many u n c e r t a i n t i e s ) .
39 Maurice J . E. Brown, Schubert: A C r i t i c a l Biography (London:
Macmillan, 1958), p. 230. 40 Maurice Brown, Essays on Schubert, p. 218.
41 Hutchings, op. c i t . , p. 1.
John Reed, Schubert: The Young Years (London: Faber and Faber, 1972), p. 265.
4 3 J . A. Westrup, "The Chamber Music [of Schubert]," The Music of Schubert, edited by Gerald Abraham (New York: Norton, 1947), p. 108.
44 Reed, op. c i t . , p. 150.
45 Hutchings, op. c i t . , p. 1.
46 Westrup, op. c i t . , p. 108.
47 Kathleen Dale, "The Piano Music [of Schubert], 1 1 The Music of , edited by Gerald Abrs
Blom, op. c i t . , p. 163.
Schubert, edited by Gerald Abraham (New York: Norton, 1947), p. 134.
48T
49
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 14.
"^Blom, op. c i t . , p. 165. "^Blom finds a para l le l between the speeding up of the minuet into
the scherzo and the speeding up of the Landler into the waltz, i b i d . 52
Marcel Brion, Schumann and the Romantic Age (London: C o l l i n s , 1956), p. 163.
53 Dale, op. c i t . , p. 51.
54 Robert Schauffler, Florestan: The L i f e and Work of Robert
Schumann (New York: Dover, 1945), p. 286. "^Dale, op. c i t . , p. 51.
56 Schauffler, op. c i t . , p. 400.
"^Carner, op. c i t . , p. 23.
58 Later Opera 99, 124, 109, and 130 are collections of small
pieces written at various times in his l i f e . 59
R. Murray Schafer, E. T. A. Hoffmann and Music (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1975), p. 149.
^Both are considered as the source of some of the Papillons, Op. 2. See Edward Lippman, "Theory and Practice i n Schumann's Aesthetics," Journal of the American Musicological Society (1964), p. 318, and Thomas Alan Brown, The Aesthetics of Robert Schumann (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1975; or ig inal ly published by the Philosophical Library, 1968), p. 169.
Gerald Abrahams, "Schumann," Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, V o l . VII , edited by Eric'Blom,_New.York:"" "St. Martin 's , 1954.
98
62 Schauffler, op. c i t . , p. 357.
6 3 Joan C h i s s e l l , Schumann (London: J . M. Dent & Sons, revised
edition 1967; f i r s t published in 1948), p. 119. 64
Robert Schumann, The L i f e of Robert Schumann as Told in His Letters, translated by May Herbert (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1890), Volume I, p. 37.
65 Dale, op. c i t . , p. 49.
^Robert Schumann, Jugendbriefe von Robert Schumann, nach ben Originalen mitgetheilt von Clara Schumann (Leipzig: Breitkopf. und H'artel, 1885), p. 167.
67 Joan C h i s s e l l , Schumann (London: J . M. Dent & Sons, revised
edition 1967, 1st edition 1948), p. 102. 68
Bernard Gavoty, Frederic Chopin, translated by Martin Solinsky (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977), p. 234. Gavoty i s quoting from the poet Brodzinski.
Chapter Three
"'"Barbara Jelavich, The Habsburg Empire in European Affa i rs 1814- 1918 (Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1969), pp. 17-18.
2 I b i d . o
Ralph Tymms, German Romantic Literature (London: Methuen, 1955), p. 36.
Stareel Brion, Daily L i f e in the Vienna of Mozart and Schubert, translated by Jean Stewart (New York: Macmillan, 1962), p. 240.
^Jelavich, op. c i t . , pp. 13-20.
Brion, op. c i t . , p. 229.
^Egon Gartenberg, Johann Strauss: The End of an Era (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1974), p. 68.
g Robert Schumann, The L i f e of Robert Schumann as Told in His
Letters, translated by May Herbert (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1980), V o l . I, P- 215.
9 Tymms,
op. c i t .
Brion, op. c i t
"'""''Tymms, op. c i t
99 12 I b i d . , r e f e r r i n g to Laube's R e i s s e n o v e l l e n (1833-37), p. 41. 13
Frances T r o l l o p e , Vienna and the A u s t r i a n s , V o l . I I (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1838), p. 183.
14 B r i o n , op. c i t . , p. 205.
"^Anya Peterson Royce, The Anthropology of Dance (Bloomington: Indiana U n i v e r s i t y P ress, 1977), p. 20.
16 Mosco Carner, The Waltz (London: Max P a r i s h , 1948), p. 11.
" ^ I b i d . , p. 22. We are indebted to him f o r the e n t i r e paragraph.
~*"^Ibid. , p. 11. 19
I b i d . , p. 15. 20
Paul N e t t l , . The Story of Dance Music (New York: Greenwood Pr e s s , 1947), p. 209.
2 1 I b i d . , p. 210. 22
Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 37. 23
Blom, op. c i t . , p. 166. 24
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 26. 25
I b i d . , p. 33. The t r i o of the minuet i n symphonic l i t e r a t u r e , i s considered by Carner and Blom to be more o f t e n than not a Landler ; they c i t e the normal t r i o t e x t u r e of the Lan d l e r , along w i t h the presence of a r u s t i c character as evidence f o r t h i s o p i n i o n .
2 ^ I b i d . , p. 22. 27
Information derived from a n a t i v e of Vienna—Mrs. M. B. Kahn. 28„
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 11. 29
Egon Gartenberg, Vienna: I t s M u s i c a l Heritage ( U n i v e r s i t y Park: Pennsylvania State U n i v e r s i t y P ress, 1968), p. 133.
30 Frances Rust, Dance i n S o c i e t y (London: Routledge and Kegan
P a u l , 1969), p. 18. 31
Frances Rust, op. c i t . , p. 19. 32
Gartenberg, op. c i t . , p. 133. 33
Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 423. 34^
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 34.
100 35 Gartenberg, op. c i t . , p. 133. Reichardt made t h i s statement i n
an u n i d e n t i f i e d paper he published Feb. 15, 1809. 36
Egon Gartenberg, Johann Strauss: The End of an Era ( U n i v e r s i t y Park: Pennsylvania State U n i v e r s i t y P r ess, 1974), p. 17.
3 7 I b i d . , p. 56. 38
Arthur Hutchings, Schubert (London: J . M. Dent, 1945, r e v i s e d 1973), pp. 148-149.
39
Sachs, op. c i t . , p. 434.
^ R e e s e r , op. c i t . , p. 34. 41
We acknowledge that t h i s form was pioneered by C a r l Maria von Weber i n I n v i t a t i o n to the Dance.
42 A cursory look at Op. 127 r e v e a l s a p o t p o u r i of waltzes of v a r i e d
harmonic complexity and unrelated keys. Op. 9 i s even more uneven w i t h i t s j u x t a p o s i t i o n , of waltzes of the s i m p l i c i t y of No. 7 to the complexity of No. 36.
43 Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 48.
44 Carner, op. c i t . , p. 44.
45
I b i d . , p. 23.
I b i d . 4 7 P h i l i p T. B a r f o r d , "Joseph Lanner: A Further A p p r a i s a l , " Music
Review, 21 (1960), p. 180. 48
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 30. 49
Janos Marothy, Music and the B o u r g e o i s i s , Music and the P r o l e t a r i a n , t r a n s l a t e d by Eva R6na (Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1974), p. 236.
"^Egon Gartenberg, Vienna: I t s M u s i c a l Heritage ( U n i v e r s i t y Park: Pennsylvania S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1968), p. 129.
"^Henry and Mary Garland, The Oxford Companion to German L i t e r a t u r e (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976), p. 81.
5 2 I b i d . , pp. 81-82. 53
F r i e d e r i c h Sauter's w r i t i n g s have been c o l l e c t e d as V o l k s l i e d e r und andere Reime (1811), and Die samtlichen Gedichte des a l t e n Dorschul-m e i s t e r s S. F r . Sauter (1845).
101 54 B r i o n , op. c i t . , p. 222.
"'"'Garland, op. c i t . , p. 747. Schubert set Der Wachtelschlag. 5 6 I b i d . , p. 81
"^Gartenberg, Johann Strauss; The End of an Era, p. 68. 58
Arthur Hutchings, Schubert (London: J . M. Dent, 1945, r e v i s e d 1973), p. 5.
59 Gartenberg, i b i d . , p. 68. Under the r u l e of Joseph I I (1765-
1790) who was i n f l u e n c e d by the enlightened l i b e r a l philosophy of the time, a wealthy m e r c a n t i l e c l a s s was created (Joseph even elevated some to the a r i s t o c r a c y ) as a b u f f e r c l a s s to oppose the power of the a r i s t o c r a c y . ( B r i o n , op. c i t . , pp. 224-225.)
60 Janos Marothy, Music and the Bourgeois, Music and the P r o l e t a r i a n ,
t r a n s l a t e d by Eva Rona (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1974), p. 47. ^ I b i d . , p. 71. 62,, Tymms, op. c i t . , p
63 Encyclopaedia B r i t a n n i c a , Volume 9 (Chicago: W i l l i a m Benton,
1960), p. 948-e. 64
W i l l i a m Fleming, A r t s and Ideas (New York: H o l t , Rinehart and Winston), pp. 386-387.
65 I b i d . The Biedermeier p e r i o d a c t u a l l y represents the triumph
of middle c l a s s t a s t e i n a r t and l i f e - s t y l e which has i t s r o o t s i n the Pr o t e s t a n t c o u n t r i e s of the seventeenth century. The Key to the s t y l e i s the " c u l t of d o m e s t i c i t y . " With P i e t e r de Hooch and Jan Vermeer we see a p r e d i l e c t i o n f o r scenes re p r e s e n t i n g the simple unpretentious l i f e - s t y l e of the middle c l a s s when the s t y l e i n other c o u n t r i e s was that of the sensuous and ceremonious Baroque. Under Calvanism, a u s t e r i t y of expression was imposed on p u b l i c l i f e , i . e . , the r e s t r i c t i o n of embellishment i n a r c h i t e c t u r e and music. T h r i f t , s i m p l i c i t y , s o b r i e t y , and conscientiousness were elevated to become part of a pious moral code which compensated f o r the mundane circumstances of middle c l a s s l i f e .
66 P i e r r e Courtheon, Romanticism, t r a n s l a t e d by Stuart G i l b e r t
(Cleveland: The World P u b l i s h i n g Co., 1961), p. 63. 67
C a r l E. Schorske, Fin-De-Siecle Vienna: P o l i t i c s and Cu l t u r e (New York: A l f r e d A. Knopf, 1980), p. 6. This author contends that such bourgeois s e l f - r i g h t e o u s n e s s has q u i t e p r o p e r l y prompted the a s s o c i a t i o n of Biedermeier and V i c t o r i a n .
68 Marothy, op. c i t . , pp. 55 and 81.
69 Schubert, Franz, Sixty Songs by Schubert, translated by Maria X. Hayes, edited by J . A. Kappey (London: Boose & Co., n.d.).
7^Gartenberg, Vienna: I t s Musical Heritage, op. c i t . , p. 6.
7 1M i arothy, op. c i t . , p. 46. 72
Ibid ., p. 213. 73
Gartenberg, Johann Strauss: The End of an Era, op. c i t . , p. 43. 74
Marothy, op. c i t . , p. 213.
^W a l t e r S o r e l l , Dance Through the Ages (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1954), p. 166.
76 Trollope, op. c i t . , p. 176.
77 Tymms, op. c i t . , pp. 39-46.
7 8 Gartenberg, op. c i t . , p. 43.
79 Blom, op. c i t . , p. 179.
80 William Weber, Music and the Middle Class (New York: Homes &
Meier, 1975), p. 8. 81
Carner, op. c i t . , pp. 39-42. We are indebted f o r the information i n the above paragraph.
82 Strauss i s considered to be more conservative than Lanner i n the
area of harmony. 83^
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 44. 84
Schumann's favou r i t e targets were the p i a n i s t s Huntz and Herzel. He characterized a m i l i e u where galloping p h i l i s t i n i s m was the order of the day as a "period of sleep . . . when one hal f of the musical world was s t i l l occupied with Beethoven, while the other followed the fashions of the day . . . " This statement appeared i n NZFM, Oct. 1839.
85^ Carner, op. c i t . , p. 45.
86 Carner, op. c i t . , p. 37.
87 Marothy, op. c i t . , p. 57.
88 Arnold Hauser, The S o c i a l History of A r t : Rococo, Classicism,
Romanticism (New York: Vintage Books,1951 ), pp. 36-37. 89
Hutchings, op. c i t . , pp. 148-149. 90 H. R. Haweis, "Schubert and Chopin," Contemporary Review, Vol. I,
(May, 1866) , p. 82.
103
P a r c e l Schneider, Schubert (Paris: Editions du S e v i l , 1957), p. 14, translated by Elizabeth Poston, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1959, reprint 1975.
92 Gahy, Mayrhoffer, Vogle, Hlittenbrenner brothers, and Schober to
name a few. 93
Otto Erich Deutsch, Schubert: A Documentary Biography, translated by Eric Blom (London: J . M. Dent & Sons, 1946), pp. 741-42.
94 Shorske, op. c i t . , p. 220.
95 From here on we w i l l refer to Schubert's dances of the waltz-type
as waltzes except where a direct reference i s made to a work. 96
Carner, op. c i t . , p. 29. 97
Alfred Stenger, Studien zur Geschichte des Klavierwalzers (Frankfurt: ..Peter Lang, 1978), p. 26.
98 Jacob, op. c i t . , p. 54.
99 Marothy, op. c i t . , p. 67.
"^^Stenger, op. c i t . , pp. 23-25. This author f l i r t s with the idea that the designation Valse instead of the usual Walzer i s indicative of Schubert's perception that the Valse Sentimentales f e l l into a more sophisticated genre which forecasted the salon waltz. He claims that along with i t s counterpart the Valse Nobles, they reflect Schubert's Dbppelnatur—a dichotomy between the introvert and extrovert in his psychology comparable to Schumann's Eusebius and Florestan. It i s an interesting thought, but impossible to substantiate on the basis of a t i t l e because of the arbitrary publishing practices of the time. Paul Mies, in the preface to his publication of Schubert's Samtliche Tanze, ha=; this to say:
. . . i t i s certain that the subtitles given to many dances derive not from Schubert but the publishers of the f i r s t editions. This i s probably also true of the t i t l e s of the dances Deutsch Cat. 779 Valse Sentimentales and 969 Valse Nobles.
Reeser, op. c i t . , p. 43.
102 H. E. Jacob, op. c i t . , p. 53.
103 Robert Schumann, Early Letters, translated by May Herbert
(London: George B e l l and Sons, 1888), p. 81. 104
Stenger, op. c i t . , p. 93.
Chapter Four
^Sorel l , Dance Through the Ages (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1954), p. 166.
104
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Appendix VI
Table 1
Waltzes and Works w i t h Waltz Elements: Franz Schubert
Overt Waltzes
Zwblf Walzer, seibzehn Landler (und neun Ecos s a i s e n ) , Op. 18, D 145 Zwblf Wiener Deutsche, D 128 Walzer, D 139 Zwanzig Walzer genannt " L e t z t e Walzer," Op. posth. 127, D 146 Sechsunddreissig O r i g i n a l t a n z e genannt " E r s t e Walzer," Op. 9, D 365 Siebzehn Deutsche Tanze genannt "Landler," D 366 Acht Landler, D 378 Zwblf Deutsche Tanze, D 420 Deutscher Tanz (und E c o s s a i s e ) , D 643 Zwei Lan d l e r , D 679 Acht Lan d l e r , D 681 V a r i a t i o n liber einen Walzer von Anton D i a b e l l i , D 718 Deutscher Tanz, D 722 Sechzehn Landler (und zwei Eco s s a i s e n ) , Op. 67, D 734 Zwei Deutsche T'anze, D 769 V i e r u n d d r e i s s i g Valses sentimentales, Op. 50, D 779 Sechzehn Deutsche Tanze (und zwei Eco s s a i s e n ) , Op. 33, D 783 Zwblf Deutsche Tanze genannt "Landler," Op. posth. 171, D 790 Sechs Deutsche Tanze, D 820 Zwei Deutsche Tanze, D 841 Walzer genannt "Albumblatt," D 844 Zwblf Grazer Walzer, Op. 91, D 924 Zwblf Valse nobles, Op. 77, D 969 Sechs Deutsche Tanze, D 970 D r e i Deutsche T'anze, D 971 D r e i Deutsche Tanze, D 972 D r e i Deutsche Tanze, D 973 Zwei Deutsche Tanze, D 974 Deutscher Tanz, D 975 Walzer, D 978 Walzer, D 979 Zwei Walzer, D 980 V i e r Komische Landler, D 354 Acht Lan d l e r , D 355 Acht Lan d l e r , D 370 Sechs Lan d l e r , D 374 Zwei Landler, D 640 Zwei Lan d l e r , D 680
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Table 1, continued
Covert Waltzes
Piano Sonatas
Sonata E major, D 459, 4th movement
Sonata B major, Op. 147, D 575, 3rd movement
Sonata E f l a t major, Op. 122, D 568, 1st movement 3rd movement
Sonata D major, Op. 53, D 850, 3rd movement
Sonata G major, Op. 78, D 894, 3rd movement
Sonata A major, D 959, 3rd movement
Sonata B f l a t major, D 960,3rd movement
Sonata A minor, Op. 143, D 784, 3rd movement
Chamber Music
Trios
Scherzo and T r i o : scherzo is a waltz Scherzo and T r i o : scherzo is a waltz
Second theme is a waltz Minuet and T r i o : waltz elements in the Menuetto, bars 14-17 Scherzo and T r i o : waltz elements i n the scherzo, bars 51-68 Menuetto and T r i o : t r i o is a waltz; waltz elements i n the Menuetto, bars 9-18 Scherzo and Tr io : t r io i s a waltz Scherzo and T r i o : scherzo i s a waltz Allegro vivace: waltz elements
Trio B f l a t major, D 581, 3rd movement
Noturno G major, D 96, 3rd movement
Trio B f l a t major, Op. 99, D 898, 3rd movement
Trio E f l a t major, Op. 100, D<929, 1st movement
3rd movement
Quartets
Quartet (various keys), D 18, 2nd movement
Quartet C major, D 32, 2nd movement
Quartet D major, D 94, 3rd movement
Menuetto and T r i o : t r io i s a waltz Menuetto and T r i o : both are waltzes Scherzo and T r i o : t r io i s a waltz
Allego: principal subject i s a waltz Scherzo and T r i o : scherzo is a waltz
M e n u e t t o and T r i o : t r i o i s a w a l t z M e n u e t t o and T r i o : b o t h a r e w a l t z e s Menue t t o and T r i o : t r i o i s a w a l t z
Table 1, continued
119
Quartet B f l a t major, D 112, 3rd movement
Quartet G minor, D 173, 3rd movement
Quartet D major, D 74, 3rd movement
Menuetto and T r i o : Menuetto i s a waltz Menuetto and T r i o : both are waltzes Menuetto and T r i o : Menuetto i s a waltz
Quartet G major, D 887, 3rd movement
Octet
Octet F major, D 803, 3rd movement
Scherzo and Trio : a waltz
t r io is
Symphonies
Symphony D major, D 82, 3rd movement
Symphony B f l a t major, D 125, 3rd movement
Symphony D major, D 200, 3rd movement
Symphony C minor, D 417, 3rd movement
Symphony B f l a t major, D 485, 3rd movement
Symphony C major, D 944, 3rd movement
Symphony B minor, D 759, 1st movement
Menuetto and T r i o : t r io i s a waltz; the Menuetto has waltz elements in the second half of the binary form
Menuetto and T r i o : waltz elements in the Menuetto in the f i r s t half of the binary form; t r io i s a waltz Menuetto and T r i o : both are waltzes Menuetto and T r i o : both are waltzes Menuetto and T r i o : t r io i s a waltz Menuetto and T r i o : both are waltzes Scherzo and T r i o : both are waltzes the second theme beginning at bar 44 i s a waltz
120
Table 2
Waltzes and Works with Waltz Elements: Robert Schumann
Overt Waltzes
Waltzes (afterwards used in Papillons) Carnayal, Op. 9:
No. 4 "Valse noble" No. 16 "Valse allemande"
Albumblatter, Op. 124: No. 4 "Waltzer" No. 7 "Landler" No. 10 "Walzer" No. 15 "Walzer"
Kinderball , Op. 130: No. 2 "Walzer"
Ball-Scenen, Op. 109: No. 3 "Walzer" No. 8 "Walzer"
Covert Waltzes
Piano Compositions
Theme on the name of "Abegg" with Variations, Op. 1: Theme Variation No. 1 Variation No. 2 Variation No. 3
Papillons, Op. 2: No. 1 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 8 No. 10 No. 12
Sechs Intermezzi, Op. 4: No. 1 waltz elements i n bars 50-53, 58-61, 74-77 No. 4 although the time signature i s 12/8, the slow tempo along with
the t r i p l e rhythm evokes the waltz No. 5 alternativo i s a waltz; the primo has waltz elements in
bars No. 6 the alternativo i s a waltz
121
Table 2, continued
David sbtindler tanze (18 characteristic pieces) :
Volume I No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 9
Volume II No. 6 No. 7 the t r io of this dance has waltz elements, bars No. 9
Carnaval, Op. 9: "Preamble" "Arlequin" "Florestan" "Coquette" "Replique" "ASCH-SCHA" "Chiarina" " E s t r e l l a " "Paganini" to the extent that "Valse allemande" occurs at the
of this piece "Promenade" "Pause" "Marche des ' David sbtindler' contre les P h i l i s t i n s "
Sonata F# minor, Op. 11 "Scherzo" Fantasiestiicke, Op. 12:
No. 4, bars 17-44, 113-140 Symphonic Variations (Supplement), Op. 13:
Variation II slow 12/8 tempo evokes a waltz Variation IV
Noveletten, Op. 21: No. 4 No. 5 waltz elements in bars 88-111, 231-254 No. 7 waltz elements in bars 97-144
Faschingsschwank aus Wien: Fantasiebilder, Op. 26: No. 1
Andante and Variations B f l a t major, Op. 46 Skizzen fur den Pedal-Flugel, Op. 58 Ball-Scenen, Op. 109:
No. 2 "Polonaise" a hybrid dance evoking the waltz as much as i t does the polonaise
No. 9 "Promenade" Bunte Blatter, Op. 99:
"Albumblatter" No. 3 Acht Polonaises, Op. I l l :
Published in 1933, some of the material, part icularly the tr ios were used in Papillons. These works mediate between waltz and polonaise.
122
Table 2, continued
Chamber Music
Trio D minor, Op. 63, 3rd movement
Trio F major, Op. 80, 2nd movement
3rd movement
Trio G minor, Op. 110, 2nd movement
Concerti
Concertstuck for 4 horns, F major, Op. 86,
2nd movement
Symphonies
Symphony B f l a t major, Op. 38, 3rd movement
Scherzo and T r i o : t r io has a waltz character "Mit innigen Ausdruck": A-B-A form, A = waltz "In massiger Bewugung": A-B-A form, a l l sections are waltzes "Ziemlich langsam": A-B-A form, A = waltz
second theme i s a waltz
Scherzo and T r i o : the scherzo has waltz elements occurring i n the second half of the binary form
Table 3
Waltzes and Works with Waltz Elements: Frederic Chopin
Overt Waltzes E f l a t major, Op. 18 A f l a t major, Op. 34, No. 1 A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 F major, Op. 34, No. 3 A f l a t major, Op. 42 D f l a t major, Op. 64, No. 1 C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2 F minor, Op. 64, No. 3 A f l a t major, Op. 69, No. 1 B minor, Op. 69, No. 2 G f l a t major, Op. 70, No. 1 F minor, Op. 70, No. 2 D f l a t major, Op. 70, No. 3 A f l a t major E major E minor A minor
Covert Waltzes
Piano Sonata, Op. 4 Piano Sonata, Op. 35 Tr io , Op. 8 Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2 Ballade, Op. 23 Ballade, Op. 52 Scherzo, Op. 31
second movement Minuetto bars 16-48 second movement "Scherzo" bars 81-183, 274-end second movement " T r i o " bars 82-97
bars 265-582 and analagous passages