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Discover My Sheet Music Arrangements on OKTAV
I recently started to share my sheet music arrangements on OKTAV. In this post, you learn a bit more about the platform.
According to YouTube, the second most popular piece composed by famous Polish composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) in terms of search volume is his so-called Spring Waltz. And if you perform the search, you will find numerous videos titled Chopin - Spring Waltz.
But if you are familiar with the music of Chopin, you may not recognize this title as belonging to his work. And if you listen to it, you will immediately realize it does not sound like Chopin either. So, did Chopin ever write a Spring Waltz?
Well... no, Frédéric Chopin composed numerous waltzes but the Spring Waltz was not one of them. The actual piece playing in all of these YouTube videos is Mariage d'Amour composed by french composer Paul de Senneville in 1979. Furthermore, it doesn't alleviate the confusion that this piece exists in two versions: the original version which is performed by Richard Clayderman and a rearranged version performed by George Davidson. The "Spring Waltz" is the George Davidson version.
Listen to the performance of Mariage d'Amour (mistakenly known as Chopin's Spring Waltz) by Jacob's Piano below:
The first thing you may notice when you hear the piece is that it's not even a waltz. It's written in the time signature of 4/4 and a waltz is written in 3/4. If you are a regular listener of classical music, this will probably also stand out for you as something written in present time. Classical music is often far more complex.
So why this confusion? Well, I personally believe it was a popular YouTube upload titled "Chopin - Spring Waltz" which caused the whole thing (but I can't know for sure). The video has now been removed (and replaced by others) but I think it reached around 25M views before being taken down - that exact video even fooled me. At the moment, I performed my rendition of this piece, I actually thought it was a composition by Chopin.
How the uploader even came up with the title is mysterious since I can't find a single piece called Spring Waltz - the title doesn't even seem to exist anywhere except for a Japanese TV show which, I guess, doesn't have too much to do with Chopin. If you've heard about an actual piece called Spring Waltz let me know in the comment section.
I hope I was able to clear up the confusion about this piece. Unfortunately, I think the power of social media will make it hard to erase this mistake whatsoever. Remember, this is a beautiful piece which deserves to be credited appropriately.
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Did Chopin write a Spring Waltz?
No. It is a common misunderstanding that has likely arisen from mistitled YouTube videos. The composition usually wrongly titled Chopin’s Spring Waltz is called Mariage d’Amour and was written by French composer Paul de Senneville.
What is the correct title and composer of the “Spring Waltz”?
The correct title of the composition commonly referred to as “Spring Waltz” is “Mariage d’Amour,” and it was composed by Paul de Senneville.
Are “Mariage d’Amour” and “Spring Waltz” the same piece of music?
Yes, “Mariage d’Amour” and “Spring Waltz” refer to the same piece of music composed by Paul de Senneville. The confusion arises from the incorrect attribution of the composition to Frédéric Chopin and the alternate title “Spring Waltz.” However, the correct title and composer of the piece are “Mariage d’Amour” and Paul de Senneville, respectively.
How did the confusion about the Spring Waltz arise?
The confusion surrounding the ‘Spring Waltz’ likely originated from widely circulated videos, particularly on platforms like YouTube, where the composition was mistitled and gained significant online traffic. Listeners with limited knowledge about Frédéric Chopin and classical music might easily assume it to be his work, as the name ‘Spring Waltz’ sounds plausible. Consequently, many listeners accepted the composition as Chopin’s ‘Spring Waltz’ and may have unknowingly contributed to spreading the misinformation.
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