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.
This waltz is 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, harp). The dancers and spectators are kept engaged by a metronomically stable 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 (notably that of Andrea Tam), on the orchestral score, and on the YouTube recording published by The Wicked North that has over 100M views:
On the piano, heavy use of the sostenuto pedal allows for an effective separation of the consistent bass staccato from the consistent treble legato. Generally, the pedal can be held for much 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 reinforces the specified phrasing that brings out the violin part. 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.
Here is the score produced using LilyPond (4 pages, US letter size):
Here is a basic MIDI file generated by LilyPond. It’s won’t sound nearly as good as an acoustic piano performance because there is no sonority, no subtle tempo changes, missing or poorly actualized dynamics, etc. Even with its articulation module, LilyPond is somewhat lacking in that regard.
And here is an on-line MIDI player for instant gratification.
