Home
Related:
The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 (German for On the Beautiful Blue Danube), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed 13 February 1867 at a concert of the Wiener Männergesangsverein (Vienna Men's Choral Association), it has been one of the most consistently popular pieces of music in the classical repertoire. Its initial performance was only a mild success however and Strauss is reputed to have said "The devil take the waltz, my only regret is for the coda—I wish that had been a success!"
After the original music was written, the words were added by the Choral Association's poet, Joseph Weyl. Strauss later added more music, and Weyl needed to change some of the words. Strauss adapted it into a purely orchestral version for the World's Fair in Paris that same year, and it became a great success in this form. The instrumental version is by far the most commonly performed today. An alternate text by Franz von Gernerth, Donau so blau (Danube so blue), is also used on occasion.
The sentimental Viennese connotations of the piece have made it into a sort of unofficial Austrian national anthem. It is a traditional encore piece at the annual Vienna New Year's Concert. The first few bars are also the interval signal of Österreichischer Rundfunk's overseas programs. On New Year's Eve, the waltz is traditionally broadcast by all public-law television and radio stations exactly at midnight.
When Strauss's stepdaughter, Alice von Meyszner-Strauss, asked the composer Johannes Brahms to sign her autograph-fan, he wrote down the first bars of The Blue Danube, but adding "Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms" ("Alas! not by Johannes Brahms").
The piece's popularity has been bolstered, as it became famous for its prominent use in the highly influential Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the movie, the piece is used to accompany a lengthy scene in which a Pan Am spaceplane is seen docking with a space station, as well as its trip to the Moon. Its use is, perhaps, intended to create a parallel between the intricate docking procedure and the role of two dancers in a waltz. The piece is also used to accompany the film's closing credits. The movie's use of this piece has led to further use in pastiches of it.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Blue Danube
