Monday 13 September 2010
Tune of the Day: The Skaters' Waltz
by Émile Waldteufel, arranged for Flute solo
“Les Patineurs” is a waltz by French composer Émile Waldteufel. Known in English as “The Skaters' Waltz”, it was composed in 1882 and was inspired by the Cercle des Patineurs (“Ring of Skaters”) at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. His introduction to the waltz can be likened to the poise of a skater and the glissando notes invoke scenes of a wintry atmosphere. The other themes that follow are graceful and swirling, as if to depict a ring of skaters in their glory.
Extremely simple and catchy, Waldteufel's Waltz once enjoyed a popularity rivaling that of the works of his near contemporary, Johann Strauss, Jr. It has featured in dozens of films, from the earliest talkies to the present, including the Academy Award-winning Chariots of Fire.