New edition 2023
The musical setting will be provided by Ballhaus Orchester Wien in partnership with musicians from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
The history of the Waltz
The origin of the famous Viennese waltz can be traced back to the folk dances of southern Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries (“walze” means “turn” in German).
At the beginning, it was a peasant dance perceived as immoral. Then it ends up seducing the Viennese society of the XIXth century and the imperial court during the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 where it enters the private salons of the aristocracy.
Dance of couple par excellence, it inspires the greatest composers like Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Ravel, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, etc.
Johann Strauss, king of the waltz
Johann Strauss father (1804-1849) composed more than 150 waltzes, bringing his orchestra from Vienna to London to make couples of lovers twirl.
Under the direction of Johann Strauss Jr. (1825-1899), the waltz was adorned with more contrasting themes.
He wrote imperishable works such as The Blue Danube (1867) and The Emperor Waltz (1888).
Today
More than 400 balls are held in Vienna every winter, attracting some 300,000 fans from all over the world.
Inspired by this beautiful tradition, many international cities have adopted it such as Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Barcelona, Moscow, Sofia, Rome, Montreal, Dubai…. and now Geneva.
