During his short life, Franz Schubert wrote about one hundred waltzes for piano. The group of 34 miniatures he called Valses Sentimentales, probably composed around 1823, were not conceived as a complete work but as short pieces written at different times that finally interested a Viennese publisher who released them in 1825 grouped together as his Opus 50.
In 1827, a year before his death, he would choose another twelve, which this time he would call Valses Nobles. They would make up a new collection that was published as his Opus 77.
"Valses Sentimentales"
The set of 34 miniatures, whose complete performance lasts no more than twenty-five minutes, contains some of Schubert's most beautiful as well as small masterpieces, for their melodic invention and tenderness, so characteristic of the composer (hence perhaps the title "sentimental"). And, as is the case with most of the Viennese master's oeuvre, these very short pieces are not abundant in virtuosic effects. Nevertheless, the grace and freshness they display are admirable.
Ravel homage
Almost ninety years later, in 1911, Maurice Ravel will publish in Paris one of his most recognized works, the set of seven waltzes plus an epilogue that he titled Valses Nobles et Sentimentales in homage to little Franz.
Guillaume Coppola, French pianist, performs here waltzes Nos. 18, 20, 21 and 23. The four waltzes together do not exceed three minutes in length. They are, in fact, miniatures.
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