Out of admiration for the “Waltz King” Johann Strauss, Ravel had already planned a waltz composition in 1906, the realisation of which was hindered by other projects and the outbreak of the First World War. When he received a commission for a ballet in 1919, he took up the idea again and, in his own words, composed “a kind of apotheosis of the Viennese waltz”. After initially rather reserved reactions from the public, the “Poème chorégraphique” for orchestra is now one of the top hits of classic...