University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ The Life and Death of the Piano Waltz A document submitted to The Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts In the Keyboard Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2007 by Sophia Grobler B.M., Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, South Africa, 2000 M.M., Youngstown State University, 2002 Committee Chair: Jeongwon Joe, Ph.D. ABSTRACT La Valse, composed in 1918 by Maurice Ravel, is generally interpreted as a dark waltz depicting the death and destruction of World War I. George Benjamin used the terms “birth”, “life”, “decay” and “death/destruction” of the waltz in his analysis of this work, to describe the four structural sections of the piece. By adapting Benjamin’s terminology, I attempt to describe the evolution of the life-cycle of the piano waltz as genre, focusing on both structural and extra-musical issues. This document begins with an overview of the extra-musical elements such as decadence and danger associated with this popular dance since its beginnings. It is followed by discussions and analyses of waltzes by pianist-composers, which represent the different sections of the life-cycle of the piano waltz, beginning with Schubert and von Weber. The section of “decay” is adapted to depict the transformation of the waltz as it was stylized by composers such as Chopin and Liszt, leading up to Ravel’s La Valse as the work celebrating both the “life” and “death” of the genre. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my work on this document my advisor, Dr. Jeongwon Joe, was a constant source of encouragement, with a wealth of knowledge and personal commitment to me. For that I am profoundly grateful. I am equally grateful towards Frank Weinstock, my piano teacher and mentor, who has supported and guided my musical development throughout my studies at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and who continues to be one of my greatest sources of inspiration in my music making. Finally, I am eternally grateful for my loving husband, Pierre, who supported me through it all, who suffered and celebrated with me, who always encouraged me, and who provided a much appreciated objective opinion to keep me on the right track. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………...1 CHAPTER I: THE BIRTH OF THE WALTZ……………………………………………4 A. The Evolution of the Piano Waltz B. Extra-musical Characteristics of the Waltz CHAPTER II: THE LIFE OF THE WALTZ……………………………………………14 A. Franz Schubert B. Karl Maria von Weber CHAPTER III: MODIFICATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE WALTZ…...22 A. Frédéric Chopin B. Robert Schumann C. Johannes Brahms D. Franz Liszt CHAPTER IV: CLIMAX: RAVEL’S CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE WALTZ…………………………………………….................48 A. Valses nobles et Sentimentales B. La Valse – poème chorégraphique CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..63 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………..66 vi INTRODUCTION The Viennese waltz was the most popular ballroom dance of the nineteenth century. This social dance (originally German) was adopted by almost every European country. It was elevated from the dance hall to the concert stage in the early 1800's by Weber's piano rondo Aufforderung zum Tanz (1819), and widely popularized by the Strauss family. It was an exhilarating, decadent dance associated with flirtation, love, lust, flushed cheeks and fast spinning and whirling for hours. It fascinated major composers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was musically developed to a great extent. One famous waltz from the early twentieth century is Ravel’s La Valse. This piece is generally interpreted as a work depicting danger, death and destruction associated with World War I and the resulting end of the nineteenth-century Viennese culture, of which the waltz was an important exponent. In an analysis of La Valse, George Benjamin1 described the four sectional divisions found in this piece as the “birth,” “life,” “decay,” and finally, the “destruction/death” of this waltz–as will be discussed in detail in chapter four. In my document, I adapt this concept and these terms to not only describe a single piece, but the development of the whole genre: the piano waltz. Many musical genres have life cycles, in which the beginning stages can be seen as the “birth,” the heyday as its “life,” followed by the modification period that leads to its “death.” This “death” does not necessarily mean that the genre is no longer in use, but its original conception and characteristics have changed dramatically. 1 George Benjamin, “Last Dance,” The Musical Times 135 (July 1994), 432-435. 1 In this document I examine the “life cycle” of the piano waltz through detailed musical analyses of representative works in the genre, exploring the historical process of stylistic transformation of the piano waltz from the beginnings of the genre to the twentieth century. I will include discussions of the musical stylistic characteristics of the waltz in its original conception, as well as the moral, social, philosophical, and psychological implications commonly associated with the waltz (i.e. the extra-musical characteristics of the waltz). In contrast to the popularity of this dance, it was also associated with social decadence and physical danger. Through the course of my document, I will contextualize the ironic tension between “life” and “death” in the contradiction between the strong popularity of the waltz as a dance and its negative image associated with decadence and danger. The “birth” of the piano waltz is depicted in a discussion of the historical background of the waltz as genre and its development from peasant dance to stylized concert piece. I will discuss some of Franz Schubert's waltzes and Karl Maria von Weber's Aufforderung zum Tanz, as examples of the earliest waltzes composed for the piano. These represent the “life” of the piano waltz - in other words, waltzes exhibiting the original conception and characteristics of the waltz. The original defining elements of the waltz include symmetrical phrase structure, functional tonality, ¾ meter and a fast tempo. The phase of stylistic modification is represented by discussions of the waltzes of Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, and Liszt. Here the original characteristics of the waltz are manipulated, transformed and refined in several different ways. These composers were liberated in some way, since in concert waltzes the music does not necessarily have to fit 2 with the steps of the dance. The final stage of the piano waltz's life cycle is represented by the waltz compositions of Maurice Ravel: his Valses nobles et Sentimentales refers back to Schubert’s waltzes in its title as well as its harmonic language, and serves as a celebration of the “life” of the piano waltz. La Valse is a large, virtuosic composition consisting of a suite of short waltz themes, culminating in the musical and structural transformation of the waltz. La Valse thus serves as a celebration of both the “life” and “death” of this beloved genre. By examining the extra-musical interpretations associated with La Valse, I will contextualize these interpretations in the history of extra-musical associations commonly attached to the waltz in general, as discussed in the beginning of the document. This will serve as support and answer to why this genre was the perfect vehicle for Ravel to use in depicting “death.” I hope to clearly show the development of the piano waltz from its “birth” through its heyday, towards its “death” in La Valse. 3 CHAPTER I: THE BIRTH OF THE WALTZ A. The Evolution of the Piano Waltz The minuet, a stately dance enjoyed by the aristocracy and danced in the courts, was the most popular dance before the waltz. Even though the minuet was most popular during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, it did continue to be enjoyed well into the nineteenth century. During this later time, it was mainly used as a dance to display a good education, good background and refined social manners – all elements which were viewed as very important in a person’s self-presentation to the rest of the world. This was something that was very important to the growing middle-class. The minuet is a slower, elegant and stately dance in triple meter, in which every movement - even facial expressions and direction of the dancers’ gaze - is strictly prescribed. It is mainly distinguished from other popular dances in the eighteenth- and nineteenth century, by the fact that the minuet does not require partners to turn. The evolution of the waltz as dance was rather gradual. Even though the verb walzen (connected with the Latin verb volvere) literally means “to turn,” there were many other dances existing during the late eighteenth century in triple meter, also characterized by turning, for instance the Ländler, Deutscher, and Dreher. What distinguishes the waltz from these other dances in triple meter is its faster tempo. Elizabeth Aldrich explains the differences between these dances in more detail: The Ländler is a dance that includes hand-clapping together with turning dancers. It is a slow, calm and deliberate dance in ¾ meter, with couples dancing around the room in a circle. It also features characteristic 4 accents in the bass on the second and third beats, which probably influenced the waltz. The Deutscher is a dance in ⅜ or ¾, and the name was used interchangeably with both the waltz and the Allemande in Vienna during the late 1780’s. The Dreher is the dance whose steps might have directly influenced that of the waltz, and its name was also used interchangeably with Walzer.

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