Before planes, trains and automobiles, the major trade routes were rivers.
The Danube is the second longest river in Europe and flows through four European capital cities. It starts in the Black Forest in the state of Baden-Württemberg just north of the German-Swiss border. It journeys north of Munich through Bavaria to Passau, down to Linz, past the great Baroque abbey of Melk, through to Vienna (capital of Austria), across the border through Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) where it forms the border with Hungary. It heads south to Budapest (capital of Hungary), where it is about halfway through its journey.
Heading due south, it forms the border between Croatia and Serbia, then heading east through Belgrade (capital of Serbia), forming the border between Romania and Bulgaria, ending in a large delta at the Black Sea.
It’s easy to see how important the river is to those who live along it – think of the Nile to the Ancient Egyptians, or the Thames to the Tudors.
Johann Strauss II was known as The Waltz King and wrote over 500 different pieces based on dance forms. Today’s choice was composed in 1866, and takes a very simple triadic theme and turns it into one of the most memorable of tunes.
Allegedly, when Strauss’s stepdaughter asked Brahms for his autograph, he wrote down the first bars of “The Blue Danube”, but added “Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms”.
The waltz forms part of the New Year celebrations at the Musikverein in Vienna which is broadcast across the world.
The Listening Project Blog 