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Sixteen Waltzes for Piano, four hands, Op. 39 is a set of 16 short waltzes for piano four hands written by Johannes Brahms. They were composed in 1865, and published two years later, dedicated to Eduard Hanslick.^[1] These waltzes were also arranged for piano solo by the composer, in two different versions – difficult and simplified. The three versions were published at the same time, and sold well, contrary to the composer's expectations. In the solo versions, some of the keys were altered from the original duet version (the last four in the difficult version and No. 6 in the easy version). Waltz Number 15 in A major (or A-flat major) has acquired a life of its own. An arrangement of five of the waltzes (Nos. 1, 2, 11, 14, and 15) for two pianos, four hands was published after the composer's death.

The 16 waltzes, in the keys of the original piano duet version, are:

No. 01 in B major Tempo giusto
No. 02 in E major
No. 03 in G-sharp minor
No. 04 in E minor Poco sostenuto
No. 05 in E major Grazioso
No. 06 in C-sharp major Vivace (C major in the easy solo version)
No. 07 in C-sharp minor Poco più Andante
No. 08 in B-flat major
No. 09 in D minor
No. 10 in G major
No. 11 in B minor
No. 12 in E major
No. 13 in C major (B major in the more difficult solo version)
No. 14 in A minor (G-sharp minor in the more difficult solo version and the two-piano version)
No. 15 in A major (A-flat major in the more difficult solo version and the two-piano version)
No. 16 in D minor (C-sharp minor in the more difficult solo version)

[edit] References

1. ^ Sixteen Waltzes for piano, four hands at Allmusic

[edit] External links

• Sixteen Waltzes for Piano, four hands: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Listening Guide for all four versions of the waltzes.