During his short life (39 years and months) Carl Maria von Weber wrote three operas, all three a success with audiences and critics, thus allowing him to be recognized as the initiator of German romantic opera. But he was also a brilliant pianist, and for the instrument, he wrote sonatas and concertos, as well as a number of short pieces, among which his most popular piano work, Invitation to the Dance, stands out.
Published in 1819, the work is dedicated to his wife, the singer Caroline Brandt, whom he had married two years earlier. At the time, the composer was director of the prestigious Dresden Opera, working intensely on the writing of the work that would be his greatest contribution, the opera Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter), which successfully premiered in 1821.
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| Carl M. von Weber (1786 - 1826) |
Invitation to the Dance is the first concert waltz in the history of music, that is to say, it is the first piece in waltz form written to be listened to rather than danced. And despite not being danceable, the piece, with programmatic content, tells the story of a dance: a young man invites a beautiful girl to dance, who graciously accepts. After fluttering around the ballroom to the rhythm of a sequence of waltzes, they say goodbye and never see each other again.
In 1841, Hector Berlioz developed an orchestral version that helped to popularize the piece even more.
Presented here is the original piano version, highly demanding for the performer, not so much for the audience, who can joyfully attend to the generous sequence of simple waltzes. Be careful, however, not to burst into applause after the last resolute chords, as there is still a quiet coda, the real finale, to be heard.
The rendition is by the Russian pianist Peter Laul, at the Marinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
Magnificent!
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