Les Patineurs ("The Ice Skaters", in German "Der Schlittschuhläufer-Walzer"), Op. 183, is a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

Émile Waldteufel Charles Émile Waldteufel (; ; ; 9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French composer, pianist, and conductor known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Among his best known works is " Les Patineurs" (1882), known as "The Skater's W ...

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 that is the western half 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 the Em ...

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, 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 Film, motion picture with synchronization, 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, bu ...

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 musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of their earliest sound films. Produ ...

'', ''

My Favorite Wife ''My Favorite Wife'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy film produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. It stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years and declared legally dead, re ...

'', ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, 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 Summer ...

'', ''

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 Murray (Short), a bumbling male fairy godmother who tries to prove ...

'', ''

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 one of the first films released by Working Title Films. The film is set in London during the ...

'', and ''

Wife vs. Secretary ''Wife vs. Secretary'' (or ''Wife Versus Secretary'') is a 1936 American romantic comedy drama film starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow. Directed and co-produced by Clarence Brown, it was the fifth of six collaborations between Gabl ...

''. 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. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

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

Fanboy & Chum Chum ''Fanboy & Chum Chum'' is an American animated comedy 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, that was bro ...

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

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop motion animated children's television series originally produced in Switzerland. It was co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It centres on the titular anthropomorphic emperor penguin and his family, who live i ...

'' 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 are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

(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 o ...

) while he is skating in

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too ''Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too'' is a 1974 American animated musical fantasy short film 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 di ...

. In the 2019

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

biopic '' Rocketman'', 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 home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

game ''

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

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

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

'' 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 mad ...

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

Nintendogs + Cats (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2005 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 Z ...

''. This piece was remixed in Nintendo's 2005 video game '' Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix'', 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 crossover sports video game developed and published by Sega for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Like its predecessor, it was published by Nintendo for Japan and Korea and by Sega elsewhere. Officially licensed by the International Olympic ...

''. "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 and American 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 advo ...

'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''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner Conducting, conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hofthe ...

''. 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