La Valse (The Waltz), a dance piece for orchestra, was written by Maurice Ravel between February 1919 and 1920. It was first performed on December 12, 1920, in Paris. The piece was originally created as a ballet but is now more commonly performed as a concert work.

The piece has been described as a tribute to the waltz. Composer George Benjamin explained that La Valse shows the rise, fall, and end of the waltz as a musical style. However, Ravel said that the piece was not meant to represent the challenges faced by Europe after World War I. He stated, "Some people think it shows a sad or exaggerated image, while others believe it hints at historical events, like the end of the Second Empire or the situation in Vienna after the war. But this dance should only be seen as music expressing a growing sound, with the stage adding light and movement." In 1922, Ravel added, "It has nothing to do with the current situation in Vienna, nor does it have any symbolic meaning related to that place. During the creation of La Valse, I did not imagine a dance of death or a struggle between life and death. (The year of the ballet’s setting, 1855, contradicts such an idea.)"

After Ravel’s death in 1937, Paul Landormy praised La Valse as "the most surprising of Ravel’s compositions, revealing new depths of Romanticism, strength, energy, and joy in a musician whose work is usually seen as strictly classical."

Creation and meaning

The idea for La valse first began with the title "Vienne," later changed to "Wien" (French and German for "Vienna") as early as 1906. At that time, Ravel planned to arrange a musical piece to honor the waltz style and Johann Strauss II. An earlier influence was a waltz from Emmanuel Chabrier’s opera Le roi malgré lui. In Ravel’s earlier works, a piece called Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911) included a musical theme that Ravel later used in La valse. After serving in the French Army, Ravel returned to his original plan for a symphonic poem titled Wien. He explained his interest in waltz rhythms to Jean Marnold while working on La valse.

Ravel completely changed his idea for Wien into La valse, which was originally commissioned by Serge Diaghilev as a ballet. However, Diaghilev never produced the ballet. After hearing a version of the piece played by Ravel and Marcelle Meyer, Diaghilev called it a "masterpiece" but said it was "not a ballet. It's a portrait of ballet." Ravel was upset by the comment and ended his relationship with Diaghilev. La valse became a popular concert piece. When the two men met again in 1925, Ravel refused to shake Diaghilev’s hand. Diaghilev challenged Ravel to a duel, but friends convinced him to stop. They never met again.

The ballet version of La valse premiered in Antwerp in 1926 by the Royal Flemish Opera Ballet. It was later produced by the Ballets Ida Rubinstein in 1928 and 1931, with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska. The music was also used for ballets with the same name: one in 1951 by George Balanchine (who had previously worked with Diaghilev) and one in 1958 by Frederick Ashton. At the premiere of Ashton’s version, Francis Poulenc praised Ashton for creating what he believed was the first successful interpretation of Ravel’s vision for the music.

Ravel described La valse with the following preface to the score:

Description

The piece begins quietly, with the deep, low sounds of the double basses. Later, the cellos and harps join in. Instruments play short, separate melodies, slowly growing into a soft tune played by the bassoons and violas. Eventually, the harps signal the start of a smooth, graceful melody. The violins lead the orchestra into the main waltz theme.

A series of waltzes follows, each with its own unique style, alternating between loud and soft sections:

• A gentle, slightly shy melody is played by the oboe, violins, and flutes, yet it remains sweet and elegant.
• The heavy brass instruments and timpani begin a lively, grand melody. The violins carry the tune while cymbals crash and the brass instruments play loudly.
• Next, the violins introduce a soft, tender tune, supported by rich, humming sounds from the cellos and clarinets. This melody fades and returns to the sweet variations and bold brass.
• A restless section follows, with dramatic violin lines and unpredictable woodwinds. Castanets and plucked strings add to the piece’s erratic character. It ends quietly and awkwardly, played by the bassoons.
• The music returns to earlier melodies before a heartfelt, sweet tune begins in the violins. Sliding notes, called glissando, are a key feature. The violins are joined by intricate, chromatic patterns in the cellos and glissando from the harps. The woodwinds repeat the tune. As it ends, it builds toward a powerful climax, which is suddenly interrupted by a soft flute.
• The flute plays a playful, repeated melody, accompanied by the glockenspiel and triangle. Meanwhile, the violins express longing, and the harps play. Strangely, the horns play quick, repeated notes. As the piece nears its end, it tries to build toward a climax again but returns to the quiet, mist-like opening.

The second half of the piece begins. Each melody from the first section is played again, but with changes. Ravel altered each waltz theme using unexpected key changes and different instruments (for example, trumpets replace flutes in some sections).

Ravel interrupts the flow again with a dark, unsettling sequence that grows into a repeated, disturbing pattern. The orchestra reaches a dramatic, eerie ending called a danse macabre coda. The work concludes with a strong, final sound that contrasts sharply with the waltz rhythm.

The piece is written for: 3 flutes (with the third flute also playing piccolo), 3 oboes (with the third oboe also playing English horn), 2 clarinets in A, a bass clarinet in A, 2 bassoons, a contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, a tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, crotales, glockenspiel, castanets, 2 harps, and strings.

Transcriptions

Ravel created two versions for piano. One version was for two pianos and was first performed publicly by Ravel and Alfredo Casella. The other version was for a single piano. This version is not often performed because it is very difficult.

Lucien Garban made a version for piano four hands in 1920. In 1919, he also created a similar version of Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin. Glenn Gould, who rarely played Ravel's music, made his own arrangement of La valse in 1975. In 2008, Andrey Kasparov created a version for piano four hands that better divided Ravel's original music between the two players. Sean Chen recorded his own arrangement of La valse in 2014 for the Steinway & Sons label.

In 2005, Don Patterson made a version of La valse for a symphonic wind ensemble for the United States Marine Band. This arrangement is on the album Symphonic Dances, conducted by Michael J. Colburn.

In 2020, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of La valse's first performance, Belgian composer Tim Mulleman created a version for string nonet (4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 1 double bass) for Philippe Graffin and Friends. A filmed performance of this version was made by Lars Konings.

The Linos Piano Trio included a version of La valse for piano trio on its 2021 album Stolen Music.

In 2025, to mark the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth, flutist and composer Nikka Gershman premiered her version of La valse for flute. This was the first time the piece was performed on flute, and it took place at Lincoln Center's Paul Hall.