The Kuss-Walzer (Kiss Waltz), Op. 400 is a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

composed in 1881. The waltz was originally dedicated to his second wife, Angelika Dittrich (1850–1919), but Strauss withdrew that dedication after their divorce in 1882. The waltz comprises melodies from Strauss' popular

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

Der lustige Krieg ''Der lustige Krieg'' (''The Merry War'') is a three-act operetta composed by Johann Strauss II. The work was first performed on 25 November 1881 at the Theater an der Wien. Its libretto was by F. Zell ( Camillo Walzel) and Richard Genée. The ...

'' (The Merry War) and is an orchestral treatment of the act 2

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

"Nur für Natur" which was a hit when first performed.

Eduard Strauss Eduard "Edi" Strauss (15 March 1835 – 28 December 1916) was an Austrian composer who, together with his brothers Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss made up the Strauss musical dynasty. He was the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim. ...

, the composer's brother, first conducted the orchestral piece at the Court Ball in Vienna in 1882.

Piece

;Introduction : \relative c' The introduction consists of arresting chords in the key of G major before proceeding discreetly into a quiet yet poignant waltz theme. The Kiss Waltz differs from Strauss' other waltzes in that the first theme recurs very often, and there are only three other waltz sections of which the first theme would be played again after concluding those successive sections. Despite being of such an economical structure, the waltz was well received at its first performance.

References

* Waltzes by Johann Strauss II 1881 compositions {{classical-composition-stub