In The Beautiful Blue Danube (Alm. An der schönen blauen Donau), commonly known as the Blue Danube or the Beautiful Blue Danube in Turkish, Opera no.314 is a waltz written by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II for the choir in 1866. It takes its name from the Danube River. The composition was performed for the first time on 13 February 1867 by the Wiener Männergesangsverein (Vienna Men's Choral Society). It has become one of the famous pieces in the classical western music repertoire.
Joseph Weyl, president of the choir, added lyrics to the original lyrics.
Strauss later added more music and Weyl had to change some of the lyrics. In the same year, Strauss adapted his work entirely to orchestral form for the World's Fair in Paris, and the adaptation was highly appreciated. The adaptation is more vocalized today. Alternative lyrics for the waltz were later written by Franz von Gernerth under the name Donau so blau (How blue the Danube is).
When Strauss's stepdaughter, Alice von Meyszner-Strauss, asked the composer Johannes Brahms, whom she admired, for her autograph, Brahms wrote the first measures of the Beautiful Blue Danube and added the words Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms (Unfortunately, not from Johannes Brahms).[3]This emotional piece, evoking Vienna, is known as the unofficial national anthem of Austria. It is a traditional request part of the Vienna New Year's Concert. The first few measures of the Beautiful Blue Danube are used as news music in the international programs of Österreichischer Rundfunk. Every New Year's Eve, the waltz is broadcast at midnight on all state television and radio channels.
Waltz 2001: It became more popular due to its use in a Space Odyssey movie.
instrumentation
The beautiful Blue Danube has been notated for the following instruments.
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