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1814, Vienna. As Europe's leaders gather for the Congress of Vienna, a fashionable new dance is capturing the imagination of ballroom crowds.

1814, Vienna. As Europe's leaders gather for the Congress of Vienna, the city is gripped by a new dance craze. In the ballrooms of the Austrian capital, couples whirl across the floor in close embrace, alarming moralists and delighting dancers. The waltz has arrived.

Originating in the folk traditions of Central Europe, the waltz quickly becomes one of the defining social and musical phenomena of the nineteenth century. As public dance halls proliferate across Vienna, composers, performers and entrepreneurs seize new opportunities, helping to create a thriving market for music designed as much for entertainment as for artistic ambition.

From Schubert's piano waltzes to Weber's Invitation to the Dance and the great Strauss dynasty, the waltz soon escapes the ballroom altogether. Over the decades that follow, composers continue to reinvent its distinctive rhythms, transforming a popular dance into one of classical music's most enduring and versatile forms.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new 麻豆社 Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. Today, her co-presenter is Simon Schama.

Producer: Chris Taylor
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for 麻豆社 Audio: Emma Harding

Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS

Johann Nepomuk Hummel: 12 Waltzes, Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 5
London Mozart Players
Howard Shelley (conductor)

Joseph Lanner: Steyrischetanz
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Robert Stolz (conductor)

Franz Schubert: Waltzes, D145, Op. 18 No. 2
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano)

Franz Schubert: Waltzes, D145, Op. 18 No. 6
Aur茅lien Pontier (piano)

Carl Maria von Weber: Invitation to the Dance
麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales
Kerem Hasan (conductor)

Johann Strauss II: An der sch枚nen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan (conductor)

Sergei Prokofiev: Waltz from War and Peace
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Mark Ermler (conductor)

Leonard Cohen: Take This Waltz
Leonard Cohen (vocals)

To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask 麻豆社 Sounds to play Key Changes."

16 days left to listen

56 minutes

Last on

Sat 29 Aug 2026 13:00
麻豆社 Radio 3

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1808: Yes, we will have a pianoforte

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1816: Engineering Music

See all episodes from Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music

Music Played

  • Johann Nepomuk Hummel

    12 Waltzes, S. 104 (Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 5)

    Orchestra: London Mozart Players. Conductor: Howard Shelley.
    • HUMMEL, Johann Nepomuk: Finale: Sappho von Mitliene.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 14.

  • Joseph Lanner

    Steyrische Tanze, Op.165

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Robert Stolz.
    • RCA : G010001344541I.
    • RCA.
    • 9.

  • Franz Schubert

    Waltz No.2 in B major, D.145

    Performer: Pierre鈥怢aurent Aimard.
    • PENTATONE : PTC 5187-034.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 6.

  • Franz Schubert

    Waltz No.6 in B minor, D.145

    Performer: Aur茅lien Pontier.
    • WARNER CLASSICS : 2173262342.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.
    • 7.

  • Carl Maria von Weber

    Invitation to the Dance

    Orchestra: 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Tom Fetherstonhaugh.

  • Johann Strauss II

    An Der Sch枚nen Blauen Donau Op 314

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic.
    • WARNER CLASSICS : 2685407523.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.
    • 21.

  • Sergey Prokofiev

    War And Peace, Op.91 (Waltz)

    Conductor: Mark Ermler. Orchestra: Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra.
    • MELODIYA : -.
    • MELODIYA.

  • Leonard Cohen

    Take This Waltz

    Performer: Leonard Cohen.
    • COLUMBIA.

Broadcast

  • Sat 29 Aug 2026 13:00
    麻豆社 Radio 3