Minute Waltz

File:Chopin Minute Waltz opening.png

Opening of the "Minute Waltz"

The Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, sometimes known as "Template:Lang" (French for "Waltz of the puppy"), and popularly known in English as the Minute Waltz, is a piano waltz by Polish composer and virtuoso Frédéric Chopin. It is dedicated to the Countess Delfina Potocka.

History

Chopin composed the waltz in 1847 and had it published by Breitkopf & Härtel<ref>Letter of Frédéric Chopin to Breitkopf & Härtel (Paris, 30 June 1847), in Selected Correspondence of Fryderyk Chopin, translated and edited by Arthur Hedley, McGraw-Hill, New York, Toronto, London, 1963, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:62-17703 27815.</ref> in Leipzig the same year, as the first of the Trois Valses, Op. 64. The second waltz is in the enharmonic parallel minor key of C-sharp minor.

A fast version of the waltz, played by Arthur Rubinstein, has served as the theme music for the BBC Radio 4 show Just a Minute since the programme’s inception.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Structure

Template:Listen The waltz is in the key of D-flat major and has a tempo marking of Template:Lang (very lively). Chopin indicates that the waltz is to be played with the sustain pedal used, and makes frequent use of crescendi and diminuendi. It is in a simple ternary form, as are many of Chopin's compositions. The A section is marked Template:Lang, and the B section Template:Lang. The A section itself can be divided into two themes, separated by a double barline. The first consists of the familiar opening melody over standard waltz accompaniment, frequently rising an octave only to drop back down. The second theme is similar, but not identical, and features several broken scales over several octaves between a repeated quarter note and triplet motive. The B section is somewhat calmer, using alternating half and quarter notes over waltz accompaniment. Following a lengthy trill, the A section is repeated, modified only in the ending, which features a three-octave descent instead of a two-octave one.

Tempo

The piece is given the tempo marking Template:Lang. Although it has long been known as the "Minute" Waltz, its nickname was intended to mean "small" in the sense of a "miniature" waltz, given by its publisher.<ref name="Hinson2004">Template:Cite book</ref> Chopin did not intend for this waltz to be played in one minute. A typical performance of the work will last between Template:Frac and Template:Frac minutes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The waltz is 140 measures long with one fifteen-measure repeat included, and thus it would have to be played at almost 420 quarter notes per minute in order to play it completely within a single minute. Playing the piece as fast as possible is still a feat some pianists attempt.<ref>Setting the metronome at 200 bpm, for a total of nearly 420 quarter notes, gives a few seconds over two minutes playing time.</ref> Camille Bourniquel, one of Chopin's biographers, reminds the reader that Chopin got the inspiration for this waltz as he was watching a small dog chase its tail, which prompted the composer to name the piece Template:Lang, meaning "The Little Dog Waltz".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>George Sand's little dog, "Marquis", was the dog of the "Template:Lang". It had befriended Chopin who mentions it in several of his letters, one from Nohant, dated 11 October 1846, another from Paris, dated 25 November 1846, in which he writes to George Sand: "Please thank Marquis for missing me and for sniffing at my door." in Selected Correspondence of Fryderyk Chopin, collected and annotated by Bronislaw Edward Sydow, translated and edited by Arthur Hedley, McGraw-Hill, New York, Toronto, London, 1963, pp. 267 & 272.</ref>

Derivative works

A vocal version of the piece, with lyrics by screenwriter Lan O'Kun, has been performed by multiple artists, including Barbra Streisand on her 1966 album Color Me Barbra, her version peaked at #23 in the BillboardTemplate:'s Easy Listening chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> O'Kun's lyrics perpetuate the notion that the tune should be performed in one minute, although Streisand's performance clocks in at just under two minutes. Because the lower notes were hard to reach, Streisand finished up the ending phrases in a spoken voice. This version was also performed by a female Muppet on the 1969–70 premiere season of Sesame Street. That same version was also used for a skit on Captain Kangaroo in the 1970s.

New Orleans rhythm and blues pianist James Booker included an instrumental version on his album Junco Partner (1976).<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref>

The composers Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji,<ref>Roberge, Marc-André (26 November 2020). "Titles of Works Grouped by Categories". Sorabji Resource Site. Retrieved 29 November 2020.</ref> Rafael Joseffy, Max Reger, Leopold Godowsky, Template:Ill, Moriz Rosenthal, Giuseppe Ferrata,<ref>Template:IMSLP</ref> Sam Raphling, Marc-André Hamelin,<ref>Template:YouTube, January 2013 at the 92nd Street Y</ref> and Bertold Hummel<ref>Bertold Hummel: "Tarantella on a Tone Sequence from Chopin's Minute Waltz for Piano, op. 77c</ref> created paraphrases of the "Minute Waltz".

External links

• Template:IMSLP
• Template:Cantorion
• Quatre Mains version for piano duet
• Free recording of the "Minute Waltz", pianoparadise.com