Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15 (from Sixteen Waltzes for piano) by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

The Sixteen Waltzes (Op. 39) were written in 1865 by German composer Johannes Brahms, while he lived in Vienna, a city where he would permanently settle in 1872. This piece, Waltz Number 15 in A major (or A♭) is likely the most popular piece in the collection. The Sixteen Waltzes were written for piano four hands, and were also arranged for piano solo by the composer, in two different versions – difficult and simplified. The three versions were published at the same time. The waltzes were intended as a tribute to the waltz dance form which had become especially fashionable in his adopted city, Vienna. Almost all of the waltzes are in a recapitulating binary form. For each waltz, the first half moves to the dominant, the relative major, or a substitute key. Then, the second half begins with a developmental passage that leads back to the main theme and the tonic.