An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube), Walzer, Op. 314

Program notes

About the Work

An der schönen blauen Donau (‘On the Beautiful Blue Danube’) is the most famous waltz ever written and the unofficial anthem of Austria. Johann Strauss II wrote it originally as a choral piece for the Wiener Männergesang-Verein, which first sang it in February 1867, at a low moment for national morale after Austria’s defeat by Prussia; in its later purely orchestral form it became a worldwide sensation and the very symbol of imperial Vienna. By long tradition it follows the first, unannounced encore at the New Year’s Concert, and its opening is the most ritualised moment of the morning: the famous shimmering tremolo begins, the audience applauds in recognition, the music stops, and conductor and orchestra wish the world a happy new year before the waltz starts again. Few pieces of music are so universally loved or so bound up with a single occasion.

What to Listen For

Listen for the magical opening: a soft string tremolo like dawn over the river, from which the famous rising horn theme gently emerges: the most recognisable few bars in all of light music. After the traditional pause and new year greeting, the great chain of waltz melodies unfolds, each more glorious than the last, swung in the inimitable Viennese lilt. Note the long-breathed lyricism and the radiant orchestration, and the way the coda recalls the principal themes before its joyous final flourish.