Exhibition
Waldteufel Title Pages 1
February 2015
Émile Waldteufel (b.Strasbourg, 9 December 1837; d.Paris, 12 February 1915)
Waldteufel, the bicentenary of whose death falls on February 12th, was the most successful waltz composer of the late nineteenth century. Coming from a musical family – his father and elder brother were dance composers – Waldteufel studied at the Paris Conservatoire from the age of sixteen and gained early employment with a piano manufacturer and playing at soirées. In 1865 he became court pianist to the Empress Eugénie and one year later conductor of the state balls. The turning point in his career came however in 1874, with an introduction to the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and the subsequent publication in London of his waltzes Manolo and Bien Aimés, the latter dedicated to the Prince and Princess.
Thereafter his works, eventually amounting to nearly 300, appeared simultaneously in Paris and London. In 1885 he appeared as conductor at Rivière’s Promenade Concerts at Covent Garden.
1. Souvenir de Biarritz. Tanda de Valses. Madrid, [c.1865]. 2. Le Sport de Nantes. Celebre Tanda de Valses. Madrid, [c.1865].
1. Mello. Valse. London, [1876]. 2. Bien Aimés. Valse. London, [1876]. 3. Manolo. Valse. London, [1876].
1. Tout à Vous. Valse. London, [1876]. 2. Polka des Tambourins. London, [1876]. 3. Toujours ou Jamais. Suite de Valses. London, [1878].
1. Les Folies. Polka. London, [1878]. 2. Les Sirènes. Valse. London, [1878]. 3. Pomone. Valse. London, [1878].
1. Gaité. Valse. London, [1879]. 2. La Plus Belle. Valse. London, [1879]. 3. Pluie d’Or. Valse. London, [1879].
1. Le Rendez-Vous. Valse. London, [1880]. 2. Autrefois. Valse. London, [1880]. 3. Brune ou Blonde. Valses. London, [1879].
1. Chantilly. Valse. London, [1880]. 2. Dolores. Valse. London, [1880]. 3. Minuit. Polka. London, [1880].
1. Solitude. Valse. London, [1881]. 2. Trictrac. Polka. London, [1881]. 3. Jeunesse Dorée. Valse. London, [1881].
1. La Source. Valse. London, [1882]. 2. La Barcarolle. Valse. London, [1882]. 3. Mariana. Valse. London, [1883].
Les Patineurs. Valse. Paris, [late issue from plates of 1883].
1. Récits D’Amour. Valse. London, [1883]. 2. Les Patineurs. Valse. London, [1883]. 3. En Garde. Polka. London, [1884].
1. Les Sourires. Valse. London, [1884]. 2. Reine des Coeurs. Valse. London, [1884]. 3. Près de Toi. Valse. London, [1887].
1. Tout en Rose. Valse. London, [1887]. 2. Joie Envolée Valse. London, [1887]. 3. Ma Voisine. Polka. London, [1887].
España. Suite de Valses d’après … Emmanuel Chabrier. Paris, [1886].
1. Douces Paroles. Waltz. London, [1887]. 2. España. Spanish Waltz. London, [1887]. 3. The Grenadiers. Valse Militaire. London, [1887].
1. Sans Façon. Polka. London, [1888]. 2. La Berceuse. Valse. London, [1880]. 3. Un Doux Poëme. Valse. Leipzig, 1891.
Hebe. Suite de Valses. London, [1902].