The Passion of Dance

Many celebrated composers wrote magnificent melodious scores for the ballet. Lully, Mozart, Beethoven, and of course the Russian school with such masters as Tchaikovsky, Glinka and Stravinsky all contributed to the genre of theatrical dance. String Quartets would enhance their repertoire by the use of this wonderful music, which could be used for many different kinds of occasions.

Tchaikovsky, more than any other composer of his period and even to our own day, understood the danse d�ecole, its relation to spectacle and its subtle connection with the popular ballroom dances of his day. His three great ballets Lac des Cygnes, Casse Noisette and La Belle au Bois Dormant elevated what had been previously hack scores into a succession of musical masterpieces. In Lac des Cygnes he created a truly symphonic canvas with masterly orchestration. One of the orchestral works that everyone loves is the Casse Noisette (�Nutcracker�) Suite. A strange thing is that when Tchaikovsky had finished this charming Ballet Music he felt very much disappointed with it. Perhaps he was reassured when the first performance took place and the audience-encored every piece except one.

In Vienna Johann Strauss the father of the great Waltz dynasty and aptly named the �King of Waltz� was intoxicating the public with the sparkle and melodic freshness of his dance music. Of his three sons the most brilliant Johann Jr. composed this beautiful Waltz, which comes from his operetta �Die Fledermaus�, which received worldwide popularity in 1874. His piquant rhythm, rich melody and superb instrumentation were irresistible.