Les Patineurs ("The Skaters' Waltz", in German "Der Schlittschuhläufer-Walzer"), Op. 183, 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 ...

Émile Waldteufel Charles Émile Waldteufel (9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French pianist, conductor and composer known for his numerous popular Salon music, salon pieces. Life Émile Waldteufel (German for ''forest devil'') was born at 84 Grand ...

It was composed in 1882, inspired by the (rink of skaters) at the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...

in Paris. The introduction to the waltz can be likened to the poise of a skater, and the rapid runs invoke scenes of a wintry atmosphere. Bells were added for good measure to complete the winter scenery. It was published by Hopwood & Crew and was dedicated to

Ernest Coquelin Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...

, the younger brother of two celebrated actor brothers of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

Structure

;Introduction : \relative g'' ;Waltz 1 : \relative g'' ;Waltz 2 : \relative c' ;Waltz 3 : \relative c' ;Waltz 4 : \relative c' ;Coda : \relative c'

Use in other media

"Les Patineurs" has featured in dozens of films, from the earliest

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

to the present, including ''

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', or simply ''The Hollywood Revue'', is a 1929 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of their earliest ...

'', ''

My Favorite Wife ''My Favorite Wife'' (released in the U.K. as ''My Favourite Wife'') is a 1940 screwball comedy produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The picture stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for ...

'', ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...

'', ''

A Simple Wish ''A Simple Wish'' is a 1997 American children's-fantasy-comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring Martin Short, Mara Wilson, and Kathleen Turner. The film is about a bumbling male fairy godmother named Murray (Short), who tries to hel ...

'', ''

My Beautiful Laundrette ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was also one of the first films released by Working Title Films. The story is set in London during ...

'', and '' Wife vs. Secretary''. It was also played at Rose's "coming-out" ball in London in the last episode of season 4 of the TV show ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

'', as well as in the episode "Secret Shopper" of the kids' TV show ''

Fanboy & Chum Chum ''Fanboy & Chum Chum'' is an American computer-animated television series created by Eric Robles for Nickelodeon. It is based on ''Fanboy'', an animated short created by Robles for Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Frederator Studios, which was b ...

''. It was used in the original version of the children's television series ''

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerlan ...

'' in the third episode, "The New Arrival". It is also on the compilation ''Andy Williams Christmas Show'' DVD in a scene from his 1967 Christmas show on television. A music-box version is used in the Japanese film '' Himizu'', the piece is hummed by

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

(voiced by

Junius Matthews Junius Conyers Matthews (June 12, 1890 – January 18, 1978) was an American actor in films, theater, radio and television. He was the voice of Archimedes the Owl in Disney's '' The Sword in the Stone'' in 1963. He was also the original voice ...

) while he is skating in

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too ''Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too'' is a 1974 animated featurette based on the third chapter of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the fourth and seventh chapters of ''The House at Pooh Corner'' by A. A. Milne. The featurette was directed by John Lounsbery, p ...

. In the 2019

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

biopic ''

Rocketman ''RocketMan'' (also written as ''Rocket Man'') is a 1997 American comic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gillard and starring Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler, and Jeffrey DeMunn. A partial remake of the 1967 film, '' The ...

'', a young Reggie plays along on the piano as the waltz plays on the wireless, sparking the recognition of his musical talent. The music is played in every level of the

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

game ''

Antarctic Adventure is a video game developed by Konami in 1983 for the MSX, and later for video game consoles, such as NES and ColecoVision. The player takes the role of an Antarctic penguin, racing to various research stations owned by different countries in Antar ...

''. A small part of it is played in the

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

'' Daredevil'' and its spin-off ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

''. "The Skaters' Waltz" is also a music record in ''

Nintendogs + Cats is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan, and was later released in: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and other regions ...

''. This piece was remixed in Nintendo's 2005 video game ''

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix ''Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix'', known in Europe as ''Dancing Stage Mario Mix'', is a 2005 music video game developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the first ''Dance Dance Revolution'' game ...

'', as a song called "Rendezvous on Ice" that plays when Mario is skating away from an avalanche down a mountain. This piece was shortened in Sega's 2009 Wii video game ''

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is a 2009 and 2011 sports and party game developed by Sega. Like its predecessor, it was published by Nintendo for Japan and Korea and by Sega in the Western world. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) th ...

''. "The Skaters' Waltz" is used in the 1985 BBC children's television show '' Galloping Galaxies!''. "The Skaters' Waltz" is used, briefly, towards the end of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

's 1925 parody '' Ouvertüre zum "Fliegenden Holländer", wie sie eine schlechte Kurkapelle morgens um 7 am Brunnen vom Blatt spielt'', a very dissonant spoof of Wagner's overture to ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner claim ...

''. Waldteufel's music suddenly appears, perfectly consonant, as the players "forget" what they were playing and then they "remember" what they were supposed to be playing and return to the dissonant spoof on Wagner.

References

External links

Les Patineurs Valse MIDI at Classical Music Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patineurs Compositions by Émile Waldteufel Waltzes 1882 compositions Compositions in A major Music dedicated to family or friends