The repertoire of the early Viennese ballroom was highly influential in the broader histories of both social dance and music in nineteenth-century Europe. Yet music scholarship has traditionally paid little attention to ballroom dance music before the era of the Strauss dynasty, with the exception of a handful of dances by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. This book positions Viennese social dances in their specific performing contexts and investigates the wider repertoire of the Viennese ballroom in the decades around 1800, most of which stems from dozens of non-canonical composers. Close examination of this material yields new insights into the social contexts associated with familiar dance types, and reveals that the ballroom repertoire of this period connected with virtually every aspect of Viennese musical life, from opera and concert music to the emerging category of entertainment music that was later exemplified by the waltzes of Lanner and Strauss.

Reveals how the culture and repertoire of the early Viennese ballroom permeated and intersected with other areas of musical life.

About the Author
Erica Buurman is Assistant Professor of Music at San Jose State University and Director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies. Her research focuses on music of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, especially Beethoven, and social dance.


Book Information
ISBN 9781108495851
Author Erica Buurman
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 530g
Dimensions(mm) 250mm * 175mm * 16mm