!!!Walzer

Waltz (German "walzen" = to turn, to roll), dance in 
¾ time, popular in the Bavarian-Austrian region since the last 
quarter of the 18%%sup th/%  century, single pair dance where the 
pairs perform double turns (around their own axis and around the dance 
floor). Precursors of the waltz are the  Laendler, the Deutscher Tanz 
and the Langaus dances; the waltz, like the very fast Langaus dance 
before it, met with strong criticism: it was deemed immoral, too fast 
and was believed to lead to overheating and illness, even to the early 
death of the dancers. First proof of the name "Walzer" 
(German for waltz) dates from Vienna around 1750. In 1786 the first 
waltz was performed on a Viennese stage (in "Una cosa rara" 
by V. Martin y Soler) and was enthusiastically acclaimed by the 
audience. The term "Wiener Walzer" (Viennese waltz) first 
appeared in Braunschweig in 1811; other types of waltz are the French 
waltz (danced in 3 parts with increasing speed) and the English Waltz, 
a slow waltz that became increasingly popular after 1920. Unlike other 
types of waltz (e.g. the slow waltz), the Viennese waltz is danced 
with a counter-clockwise turn. At the beginning of the 19%%sup th/%  
century the waltz developed to become a respectable form of dance 
music: While the first waltzes (L. van Beethoven, F. Schubert) 
were still short and simple, J.  Lanner and above all the 
representatives of the Strauss dynasty, Johann  Strauss the Elder, 
Johann  Strauss the Younger, Josef  Strauss and Eduard  Strauss, 
developed the waltz into an art form with an introduction and a coda. 
The waltz became longer and rhythmically and harmonically more 
complex, its instrumentation became more elaborate than it had been at 
the beginning of the century. Not only did it become an important part 
of the Viennese  Operetta, but it was also integrated into opera and 
symphonic music (e.g. R.  Strauss, H. Berlioz, G.  Mahler, C. Gounod). 
Even though the waltz steadily lost in importance in the 20%%sup th/%  
century as new dances developed, it is still regarded as the most 
prestigious ballroom dance (e.g. opening of the Vienna Opera Ball).

!Literature
F. Klingenbeck, Unsterblicher Walzer, 1940; idem, Das 
Walzer-Buch, 1952; E. Nick, Vom Walzer zur Wiener Operette, 1954; F. 
Endler, Das Walzer-Buch, 1975; R. Witzmann, Der Laendler in Wien, 
1976; W. Salmen, Tanz im 19. Jahrhundert, 1989; H. Krenn, 
J. Lanner, 1992.


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