en
Cart
0
0.00 €

Listen to Music

Béla Kéler: Golden Waltzes

Czechoslovak Chamber Duo | Pavel Burdych, violin & Zuzana Berešová, piano

Béla Kéler composed 49 unpublished waltzes in the early stages of his creative work, mostly for solo piano. From the time he was active in Vienna, he composed 27 published waltzes for orchestra, for which he mostly created versions for violin and piano, solo piano, and piano four hands. In all these waltzes, he maintains a uniform structure: an introduction, five separate dances, and a conclusion.

  1. The waltz German Sentiment, Op. 88, was completed on March 29, 1870. The autograph manuscript of the work is housed in the Šariš Museum in Bardejov. Its premiere took place on March 21, 1871, in Wiesbaden. 
  2. The waltz On the Beautiful Rhine, Op. 83, was conducted by Kéler for the first time in Wiesbaden on August 28, 1868, after returning from Bardejov, and it serves as a tribute to his hometown. The opening tones of the waltz are engraved on Kéler's tombstone in Wiesbaden. At the time, the work was successfully compared to Johann Strauss Jr.'s waltz The Blue Danube.
  3. The date of composition for the waltz Under Italy's Blue Sky is not known. The individual dances in it have unusually specific names. In the concluding section, titled "Farewell, Italy," Kéler quotes the Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia."
  4. The waltz The Last Joyful Hours, Op. 100, was completed by Kéler on November 22, 1872, and premiered a month later. In the introduction, the imaginary clock strikes eleven, signaling the final hour of the gaming operation at the Wiesbaden Casino in the form of five dances. The composition closes with a motif from the German song "Be Happy, Silent Home."
  5. The waltz From Rhine to Danube, Op. 138, was completed by Kéler on March 17, 1876, in Wiesbaden. Through German and Austrian motifs, it conveys the atmosphere of the two great European rivers that are close to the places where he was active.
  6. Kéler completed his work on the Austro-Hungarian Waltz, Op. 91, on January 25, 1871. In the introduction, he exposes themes of Hungarian and Austrian folk songs. Throughout the waltz, he uses the striking contrast of Austrian and Hungarian motifs, concluding with fragments of the Rákóczi March and Haydn's Imperial Hymn.