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When discussing this topic, I let myself be carried away by the spell of a great speaker who knew how to masterfully use the resources of oratory to talk about the waltz and Johann Strauss father and son. In addition to her ability to transmit ideas about new creations, she managed to allow the audience to delve into this phenomenon that emerged as an expression of a society that had cornered aristocratic customs and had given control to the bourgeoisie on the continent.
He managed to take us to Vienna, imagining those ballrooms where a group of people, breaking with the studied movements of the minuet (aristocratic and courtly dance that stands out for tiny steps), achieves with this new dance, in each of its dizzying turns, a absolute feeling of freedom.
One of the anecdotes that brought a smile to the listeners was the comment he made about the consideration of the waltz in the 18th century, rather at the end, as "something immoral and daring." He collected a quote from Goethe's book The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), in which the protagonist tells of a dance that begins with some minuets:
"When we arrived at the waltz we began to circle around each other, as if we were spheres (…) I have never danced with greater lightness and ease. I was something more than a man. To have that kind creature in my arms, to fly with her like an exhalation, losing sight of everything around me...".
The most conservative people were not used to the fact that a couple danced intertwined. Until then, the dancers held hands while performing complicated choreographies, as was the case with the minuet.
It was the governess of Louis Philippe of France (Louis Philip of Orleans, last king of France), who said that the waltz would spoil any honest young woman who performed it: "A young lady, lightly dressed, throws herself into the arms of another "A man who hugs her to his chest and conquers her so quickly that she cannot stop her heart from beating wildly and her head from spinning. Such is the effect of the waltz!"
Despite this, the new dance spread with the opening of dance halls. In researching, I have read that the first public dance hall was founded in London, the Carlisle House. It was a private club where you could dine, play cards, listen to pieces performed by a chamber orchestra and dance. His example was followed in European cities such as Vienna.
In fact, the popularity of the waltz owes much to the Austrian musicians Johann Strauss father and son. The same can be said of the waltzes of the German Carl Maria von Weber and the Polish Frederic Chopin or those that the Russian Tchaikovsky included in such famous ballets as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake or The Sleeping Beauty.
European society in the 19th century was changing and the waltz was already the absolute king of upper-class salons throughout Europe. I want to highlight the great success of Johann Strauss Sr. with the Radetzky March.
We were able to enjoy, watching and listening to a video, the performance of it by an orchestra conducted by a famous conductor in such an exceptional setting as the most beautiful concert hall in Vienna, the Golden Hall. It is here where the New Year's Concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra of this city is held every year.
Johann Strauss Jr., known as the "king of the waltz", surpassed his father's fame, ensuring that this dance of peasant origin passed to the Habsburg Imperial Court. One of his great triumphs, among the most notable of his extensive production, was the Blue Danube. When he died, it was played by all the Vienna orchestras at the passing of his coffin.
Leaving glamor aside to talk about the humorous vein, the speaker presented this waltz, satirized by Trinca, with lyrics alluding to the planet's environmental problems. The version was in Catalan and Spanish.
I thank the speaker for having enjoyed her words and for having discovered through them that, as Johann Strauss Jr. said, "the waltz is the music of the soul and dance is the expression of joy."
