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Musicologist Anna Petrova.

"Once again about Waltz!"

High-society ceremony and ritual were supplanted by greater simplicity of morals, natural sociability in behavior, freedom and looseness of feelings; new, fairly democratic forms of social life were established, not limited by the framework of court etiquette. In wide squares, in large concert halls, in theaters, and at public holidays, different music than that known in the feudal era. And one of the pillars of this music was the rhythmic intonation of the waltz.

On the other hand, the upper strata of European society: the aristocracy, the top of the bourgeoisie, the highest clergy saw the waltz as the limit of obscenity. In their opinion, the “sedition” consisted in the fact that in front of everyone the gentleman hugged the lady by the waist, pressed her to him, the couple seemed to be fenced off from the whole world - it was “monstrous”! And although the ladies of high society enthusiastically danced the waltz, one of the French courtiers of the late 18th century said: “I completely understand our ladies who dance this new dance with such enthusiasm, but how do they allow it to Did their daughters dance?” The waltz was compared to cholera and leprosy, and countless lamentations were heard that society, civilization, and religion were threatened by the “waltz infection.”

In Vienna, in the first decade of the 19th century, it was forbidden to dance the waltz for more than 10 minutes in a row. The English poet Lord Byron, this rebel, freedom fighter, wrote a comic poem “Waltz” in 1813, the satirical arrows of which were directed not only against the English cabinet of ministers, but also against the waltz, which was coming into fashion, as a very obscene dance. In the German courts, the waltz was banned until the end of the 19th century, and the ban was lifted only by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In Russia, Catherine II disliked the waltz. Emperor Paul, who ruled after her, even issued a special police order prohibiting the use of the dance, “called walsen.” Officers caught dancing it were put in the guardhouse. And only at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, already under Alexander I, the waltz acquired citizenship rights in Russia. We remember with what ecstasy Natasha Rostova danced it at her first ball in 1811.

Time took its toll and in the 19th century the waltz, despite all the “thunder and lightning” that befell it, gradually conquered Europe and then the whole world. In the middle of the century, modest musicians from the outskirts of Vienna, Lanner and Strauss, made it the true King of Dance. By the way, Strauss, translated from German, means “bouquet.” And it really was a bouquet of musicians, orchestras, melodies, waltzes...

The founder of this glorious family, Johann Strauss, began together with another patriarch of the waltz, Joseph Lanner, but the waltz reached its true flowering and perfection in the work of Strauss the son and his brothers Joseph and Eduard. The premiere of the Strauss son orchestra took place in 1844. Perhaps, from that time on The truly victorious march of the waltz began all over the world. It was with Strauss the son that the waltz finally became a waltz, taking on a complete and perfect form. This is a smooth whirling in a uniform, three-beat rhythm - moreover, the whirling is unhurried, without haste. Note that the waltz is never danced quickly, and the Viennese chamber orchestra of the Straussian type never played a waltz quickly, otherwise the dancers simply would not have time to take steps. It is always a smooth melody of wide breathing that lasts a long time, otherwise the line of dance will be interrupted - its endless flight in a circle. Moreover, from simple music for the feet From a simple musical accompaniment to a dance, the waltz more and more turned into colorful musical poems: the famous Straussian waltzes: “By the Beautiful Blue Danube”, “Tales of the Vienna Woods”, “Voices of Spring”, “The Life of an Artist” and many others... They conceal a rich range of emotions, a sparkling palette of colors, an inexhaustible variety of melodies. And all this is enclosed in an impeccable artistic form, conveyed in the language of a true Master.