Waltz II op. 99 was composed by Dmitri Shostakovich beginning in 1955 for the film The First Echelon, premiering on April 29, 1956. That same year it was arranged by Levon Atovmyan as op. 99a to appear in Suite from the First Echelon. Late in that decade, op. 99a appeared as a piece in Suite for Variety Orchestra, and that is the version of interest here.
It may be one of the most romantic formal pieces ever written, as it brings a sense of pleasure and innuendo to the ballroom, with a sort of faux nobility that originates in part from the choice of instruments (saxophone, trombone, accordion, glockenspiel). The dancers and spectators are kept engaged by a metronomically stable waltz oom-pah-pah throughout.
I’ve produced an arrangement for the piano that tries to balance richness with playability. It’s based on other prior arrangements (particularly that of Andrea Tam), and on the YouTube recording published by The Wicked North that has over 100M views:
In my arrangement, heavy use of the sostenuto pedal is called for, as it allows for an effective separation of the consistent bass staccato from the consistent treble legato, an important quality of the orchestral rendition. Generally, the pedal can be held for most of the piece, with a quick toggle just as the first bass note of each measure is released.
In the main theme refrain (consisting of thirds and octaves), I’ve recommended fingering that may seem odd at first, but which helps keep the intervals together while also enforcing the proper subtle slurring that can be heard in the orchestral version.
The quasi trombone section brings a challenge in which the primary melody moves from hand to hand. Dextrous sostenuto pedaling helps maintain legato in the melody alone.
Here is the score produced using LilyPond (4 pages, US letter size):
Here is a basic MIDI file generated by LilyPond. It’s not going to sound nearly as good as a piano performance because there is no sonority, no subtle tempo changes, missing or poorly actualized dynamics, etc.
And here is the MIDI player, for instant gratification.
