Description
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) wrote this charming little waltz for piano (or harpsichord) in 1859 – the year of his marriage to former opera singer, Giuseppina Strepponi. It was composed at a time when Verdi had achieved considerable fame and prosperity, following the success of operas such as Nabucco, Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata. It is not known if there was any specific motivation behind its composition. He wrote very little piano music but perhaps the fact that it was never published during Verdi’s lifetime means it was simply written for enjoyment: we’ll never know.
The piece lay undiscovered until it was unearthed by another Italian composer – Nino Rota. Rota was perhaps best known for his film scores – particularly his collaborations with Fellini and Visconti. It was for Visconti that Rota decided to adapt the F major Waltz for the soundtrack to the 1963 film Il gattopardo (The Leopard). Rota’s orchestrated version accompanies an opulent, hour-long ballroom scene.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa which is about the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy in 1860-1862 during the period of the “Risorgimento” – and thus almost exactly contemporary with Rota’s find.
