Talk:The Blue Danube

Lyrics
I have just inserted the rest of the words. But it has been over 40 years since I last seriously tried to speak German, so there may yet be some transcription errors; in particular, the copy I worked from came from a printshop that did not have "ß", so in some places I had to guess whether "ß" or "ss" was meant. I also did the best I could to provide a working English translation, but I had to use translate.google.com, and then edit it as best I could. If someone who is fluent in both languages could tackle it, that would be a Good Thing. John W. Kennedy (talk) 22:02, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Recording
The article needs a better copy of the piece—with better sound quality and with the complete composition. Noz92 (talk) 00:39, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Columbus restaurant

 * "The Blue Danube is also the name of a popular restaurant near the Ohio State University campus. It was established in 1940."

I've already reverted a similar para a while back, so I won't do so again...without justifying myself: I don't believe this restaurant is noteworthy enough to be encyclopedic. A google gives this info:"This campus haunt dishes up greasy delights like cheese bread, burgers, gyros, open-faced turkey sandwiches and french fries doused with gravy, all in a famously smoky atmosphere (enjoy it while you can). The Blue Danube is sure to satisfy your late-night cravings, whether it’s a night you won’t forget or one you won’t be able to remember." Did Hemingway hang there? No, but Zachery Allen Starkey does, apparently. Joestynes 05:50, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC) I'm actually looking for an article about the history of this place. It does have a long history. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2010/06/29/tradition-thrives.html Purplerhinoceros (talk) 01:04, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

Changing some years
I think the years for both of these Looney Tunes episodes are wrong. The first links to the Wikipedia article on the episode which lists Sept 25, 1943 for the original air date. I will change this one to agree with that. As for the second one the site lists the original air date as Dec 03, 1960. I have changed both years on this page and listed the old and new versions of this part below. It may be a good idea to check the years for some of the other shows listed.

Old Text:
 * In a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon, A Corny Concerto, starring Daffy Duck.


 * In a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon, High Note.

New Text:
 * In a 1943 Warner Bros. cartoon, A Corny Concerto, starring Daffy Duck.


 * In a 1960 Warner Bros. cartoon, High Note.

--AndrewBuck 20:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Split Page -- The Blue Danube in popular culture?
Looks like the pop culture references are in danger of taking over the article. The work itself deserves more of the spotlight. What's the current sentiment in creating these "in pop culture reference" articles? This is certainly one of the most pop-culture-referenced pieces of classical music. DavidRF 22:26, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Indeed. The song is so frequently used that a list of every reference to it in popular culture would be ever-growing, unmaintainable, and of little encyclopedic value.  I have removed it altogether. —Psychonaut 13:58, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, but I came to this page specifically looking for a list of popular cultural uses of the piece! There was a discussion of the 2001 film and talk of where else it had been used, and ... disappointment at wikipedia not having the answer! jlang 13:02, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps more spefically - this piece has been used quite frequently when it comes to 'space' themes. I don't see why this should not be allowed to be noted ZeBoxx 18:10, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Well the pop culture references are relevant, and the portion of the article that deals with it as it is is professional and clean and there is no reason that it shouldn't be included. It isn't such a large list that it takes away from the relevance of the piece (and even if it does, that should not be a concern for Wikipedia). If it becomes a problem in the future, it can be cleaned up.

--Anon. 18:42, 11 November 2007 (UTC) Curleylocks74 04:31, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

How come there is mention of the piece being in another game, but not any sign of Elite, one of the more well-known uses of it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.105.240.61 (talk) 22:34, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I came to this page looking for to this song specifically. For an english paper would have been nice to include info about its pop culture relevence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.77.151.206 (talk) 15:49, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I am going to add a in popular culture section as the consensus appears to be that there should be one. I also came here to find out which major things it had been used in. KlickingKarl (talk) 10:57, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
 * In fact I have reinserted fragments of the whole section removed by Psychonaut in 2007. I have simplified the list to the most notable or longest use of the pieces, with a slight bias towards including other musical uses, as this seems more relevant to the content. I think this list can be maintained. Someone could put a tag on the edit screen saying don't just include any simple use (I don't know how to do this).KlickingKarl (talk) 11:22, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I reverted that, because I agree with the sentiment that popular culture references shouldn't outweigh the material about the article itself. Is there any reason why the use of a piece of classical music should be so notable? A list of people complaining that they would like to know where it was used does not confer such notability. WikiuserNI (talk) 14:35, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

I think that within this thread, generally more people are in support of having an 'in popular culture' section, than those who aren't (my count at 5 to 3). I don't think that the small section of cultural references that I reverted can be considered to outweigh the article material itself. I would argue it is notable as a piece of classical music, as it has appeared in so much media, even if people didn't know what it was called, the sound is familiar to people. Logic being that people would try to find out what it is, this is surely where wikipedia comes in, as a place for people to learn things? From Wikipedia:"In popular culture"; "In determining whether a reference is notable enough for inclusion, one helpful test can be to look at whether a person who is familiar with the topic only through the reference in question has the potential to learn something meaningful about the topic from that work alone." The popular culture section surely is included within this remit? I would like some other opinions here too. KlickingKarl (talk) 22:57, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I reverted the edits, because I got no further comments and for the reasons explained above. These were removed on the on the grounds that it was uncited (fair point, I should have done that) and wikipedia asks us not to start lists of trivia. Unless I'm mis-understanding something here, I thought I found on wiki where it said that the stuff is worth including under "In popular culture". Please could people comment here. I really think this should be in the article in an organised way, which wont dominate the other content.KlickingKarl (talk) 13:30, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * If something has had a genuine significant impact on culture (popular or otherwise) it will most likely be mentioned in another third party, reliable source. WikiuserNI (talk) 14:46, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Check the history of the article. There used to a "pop culture" section back in 2007 or so, but it was removed.  Generally, once these sections are created for these types of ubiquitous musical pieces (e.g. Beethoven's Ninth, Pachelbel's Canon, 1812 Overture, etc) they tend to grow out of control because everyone wants to add some particular movie, television commercial or video game that uses the piece and there have been countless such references.  So, as a general rule, the editors at WP:CM avoid these types of sections.  There have been been attempts to fork off the pop culture references into child articles (e.g. something like The Blue Danube in pop culture).  That would eliminate the problem that WP:CM has with pop culture references taking over the article... limiting its exposure here to a single link at the bottom of the page, but those child articles always get deleted on WP:TRIVIA grounds.DavidRF (talk) 16:12, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

I suggest Paul Shaffer's comments be added
Paul Shaffer called it a "piece of crap" recently on The Late Show With David Letterman. I don't know the date it aired, but I'm sure the episode will repeat soon due to the writer's strike.

Spike Jones
Spike Jones did a parody version... AnonMoos (talk) 00:55, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Joseph Lhevinne
May be i mispelled name. Blue Danube, beautiful Strauss waltz, joseph lhevinne played it in the 1940's, do we have article covering his version, its supreme piano playing, others tried to cover but not as well! What's link to Joe's, if blue danube is missing, make sure it's there!
 * Update, I mastered Lhevinne's style, after a month of notes research!

popularity
"The piece's popularity has been bolstered, as it became famous for its prominent use in the highly influential Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the movie, the piece is used to accompany a lengthy scene in which a Pan Am spaceplane is seen docking with a space station, as well as its trip to the Moon."

I think this should be taken away. This was one of the absolute most famous classical pieces long before it was part of this film. It would be like saying that the musical "mama mia" helped make the abba hits famous....

Translation
The translation of the text is pretty poor. Unfortunately my German, while good enough for me to see some errors, is not good enough for me to correct them with confidence. I hope someone can lend a hand.88.167.22.75 (talk) 16:04, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Small doubt related to the story of Johannes Brahms autographing with measures from the "Blue Danube"
Which of the 2 stories below is true? (If uncertain, maybe the two women/references should be mentioned!?)

From The_Blue_Danube: "When Strauss's stepdaughter, Alice von Meyszner-Strauss, asked the composer Johannes Brahms to sign her autograph-fan, he wrote down the first bars of The Blue Danube, but adding 'Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms' (Alas! not by Johannes Brahms).The Blue Danube"

From Johann_Strauss_II: "A story is told in biographies of both men that Strauss's wife Adele approached Brahms with a customary request that he autograph her fan. It was usual for the composer to inscribe a few measures of his best-known music, and then sign his name. Brahms, however, inscribed a few measures from the 'Blue Danube', and then wrote beneath it: 'Unfortunately, NOT by Johannes Brahms.' Johann_Strauss_II"


 * The story is much beloved, but I'm not sure I've seen anything like solid evidence, so I am starting to wonder whether it's apocryphal. FWIW, I've heard the first of the above two versions, not the second.--108.16.230.212 (talk) 22:32, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

Cymbal crashes?
The text says that Waltz 5B is"punctuated by cymbal crashes" yet the instrumentation list (which agrees with the score I have) does not list cymbals --- just triangle and various drums.Musanim (talk) 00:52, 17 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I was too lazy to look up the full score, but there is a cymbal player in view in from the Vienna Philharmonic under Franz Welser-Möst from 2011 at 6:25. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 07:44, 17 August 2016 (UTC)

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Hesitations
I have heard this piece as a piano reduction, it is played with a small hesitation in the central melodic figure instead of smooth waltz-time. Why? --2001:44B8:3102:BB00:DCF1:E512:E2B3:1D24 (talk) 23:32, 18 October 2021 (UTC)