Well-bred obscenity
The ability to waltz today seems to be a sign of aristocracy, and after all some two centuries ago this dance was considered completely indecent. In Russia, the waltz was under strict prohibition, which secured the order of Paul I to the military governor of St. Petersburg Alexei Arakcheev on December 1, 1797. Together with the waltz, the emperor forbade other "indecent phenomena": the wearing of whiskers, tail coats, and "jackboots, referred to as boots." In pristine Britain, until the middle of the 19th century, dance, in which partners approached each other very closely, was condemned by the official press and the clergy. So even the Queen Victoria, who ruled at that time, did not advertise that she actually loved to waltz. In 1834, for the first time, the waltz was publicly danced in the USA, in Boston, and outraged public figures called the dance "indecent and violating any decency".
Waltz was mentioned in many literary works of the XIX century: in “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin, in “Masquerade” by Mikhail Lermontov. In “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy “distinct, cautious and fascinating-dimensional sounds of a waltz” sounded during the first ball of Natasha Rostova - in the presence of the sovereign emperor! By 1869, when Tolstoy had finished the novel, the aristocrats were already a little used to the waltz and began to treat it more tolerantly. A great contribution to the popularization of this dance was made by Johann Strauss, Jr., who spent five seasons - from 1856 to 1861 - conducted at the Highest Invitation with concerts and balls at the station of Pavlovsk near St. Petersburg and often gave waltzes. It is interesting that the brilliant and carefree Strauss waltzes, despite the fact that many of them were written in Russia, have no relation to the true Russian waltzes in spirit.
The history of the Russian waltz began with Alexander Griboyedov, a brilliant diplomat and author of the classic comedy Woe From Wit. Griboedov also wrote music, and one of his most famous works was Waltz No. 2 in E minor, composed by the writer in 1824, which was a simple, yet soulful and heartfelt.
The first "real" Russian waltz was Mikhail Glinka's Waltz-Fantasy (piano version of 1839). It was he who became the model for the majority of Russian "literary" waltzes.
Amazingly similar to the waltz-fantasy with its nostalgic character and minor mood and the waltz of Aram Khachaturian from the music for the drama Lermontov “Masquerade”, and the waltz of George Sviridov from the musical illustrations to the Pushkin story “The Snowstorm”, and the waltz by Sergei Prokofeva and I’ve been a part of the piece I’ve been drawn from and I’m a piece. - and many other waltzes from the screenings and performances of Russian classics.
So, "Sad Waltz" by AlexLouder largely continues this tradition. Of course, it orchestrated quite differently than the classic "Russian waltzes" performed by symphonic and even chamber orchestras. But it has a completely different purpose - it is still background instrumental music. Therefore, it would be wrong to impose the same requirements on this composition as on truly waltz orchestral insights. But in spirit, in character, this is a real “Russian waltz” by 100%. This is very beautiful, just amazingly beautiful music.
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