Warsaw Waltz was initially intended to be nothing like it is, however, it developed into a minor key with an Eastern-European influence. The piece begins with faint violins and violas in slow, piano bows, representing the sparseness of Warsaw in World War II after 85% of its buildings had been destroyed by the Nazi regime. The cello line enters with the melody, humming the Eastern European tune of reminiscence of a time gone by before the war. Layers of violins and violas enter in the coming phrases, interweaving the melody line with each other to build to a dramatic major key passage at letter C, representing the uprising of the Polish people to reclaim and re-build their city. Section D comes back to the sparse violins suddenly; this time with an E harmonic in the Violin I part, representing that the city, although rebuilt, still carries scars of World War II, verified with the initial cello melody returning, and a ritardando closing of the piece. A good opportunity for development of vibrato.
Instrumentation: Vln 1, Vln 2, Vln 3, Vla, Vcl, Bass.

Grade 3.

Performance time: 3:00.

 

What conductors and teachers are saying:

"A piece with stillness and great movement and a concoction of emotion in a contained setting. A real pleasure to perform and something very different to what is available in modern repertoire, particularly for high school students. I strongly recommend this to every teacher I know."

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