Waltzes for Violin and Piano

1. German emotional life op.88

2 On the beautiful Rhine I think of you, op.83

3 Under the blue sky of Italy

4 The last hours of luck, op.100

5 From Rhine to Danube, op.138

6 Austria-Hungary waltz, op.91

In his early stage of composing, Béla Kéler wrote 49 waltzes without opus number, mainly for piano. Since 1845 he wrote 27 waltzes for orchestra with opus number. Generally he transcribed them for violin and piano, piano solo, and piano at four hands. All waltzes have a fixed structure: Introduction, five independent dances and finale. 

The waltz German emotional life op. 88 was completed by Kéler at 29th of March 1870. It´s manuscript belongs to the collection of the Šariš museum at Bardejov. The first performance took place at 21st of March 1871 in Wiesbaden. 

Kéler performed the waltz On the beautiful Rhine I think of you, op. 83 for the first time at 28th of August 1868, after his return from Bartfeld. The waltz represents a memory on Kéler´s home town. The introducing notes of this waltz are engraved on Kéler´s gravestone in Wiesbaden. In its quality this composition was often compared to Johann Strauss´ waltz "The blue Danube". 

It is unknown when the waltz Under the blue sky of Italy was composed. Obviously this is one of Kéler´s last waltzes, which has not been printed and didn´t get an opus number. The single dances have uncommon names. In the finale "Addio Italia" the Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" is quoted. 

The waltz The last hours of luck, op. 100 was finished by Kéler at 22nd of November 1872 and one month later was performed for the first time. In the introduction an imaginary clock strikes eleven times into the last hour of gambling in a casino of Wiesbaden, described in five dances. The work ends by quoting the German song "So good bye, you silent domicile". 

Kéler finished the waltz From Rhine to Danube, op. 138 at 17th of March 1876. By German and Austrian motifs he gives an atmosphere of the two European rivers at which he worked. 

The composition Austria-Hungary waltz, op. 91 was finished by Kéler at 25th of January 1871. In the introduction he presents Hungarian and Austrian folk-songs. During the waltz he uses motifs of Austrian and Hungarian nature in impressive contrast and ends with fragments of the Rákóczi march and the Emperor hymn by Haydn.

The Czech violinist Pavel Burdych and Slovak pianist Zuzana Berešová have founded the Czechoslovak Chamber Duo in 2004 when they met at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. They belong to the best chamber music ensembles in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Their main aim is the worldwide presentation of both Czech and Slovak music from the 19th century to the present. In 2019, the duo recorded the world premiere of Fantasy and Burlesque, Op. 7 by Eugen Suchoň, in the author's version for violin and piano. In 2018, the duo showed its musical skills as the residential ensemble of the diplomatic missions of the Czech and Slovak Republics during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Burdych and Berešová performed in European capitals (Bucharest, Dublin, Chisinau, Lisbon, Nicosia, Podgorica, Riga, Rome, Stockholm, Vilnius, Warsaw), in Asia (Taipei, Beijing, Jakarta), America (Havana, Brasilia) and Africa (Cairo, Nairobi). In 2018, the international music festival Forfest commissioned them to perform a programme, titled "Czech and Slovak Women Composers", which included compositions by Vítězslava Kaprálová, Ivana Loudová, Sylvie Bodorová, Iris Szeghy and Viera Janárčeková. In 2017, the Czechoslovak Chamber Duo presented works of Czech composers Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček on its China concert tour (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Jinan, Dezhou, Shijiazhuang, Dalian, Foshan, Jiangmen, Pingxiang). In 2016, the duo released two CDs of music by Slovak composer Ladislav Kupkovič and the concert waltzes of Bardejov's (a town in Slovakia) most important composer Béla Kéler. The duo also took part in the Czech Ministry of Culture's project, called "The Year of Czech Music 2014". The duo performed the final concert at the Bohuslav Martinů Centre in Polička, Czech Republic. In 2013, Berešová and Burdych were invited to perform the music of the Slovak composer Karol Elbert in the project "Karol Elbert - known-unknown". In 2012, the Czech Radio label released their debut CD with compositions by Czech and Slovak composers such as Antonín Dvořák, Peter Machajdík and Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský. In 2011, they performed works by Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský on the occasion of his 130th birthday on their South Korea tour with a top concert in Seoul. On the European stages, they reminded their audience of the 170th anniversary of Antonín Dvořák's birthday. As part of the "Century of Eugen Suchoň" project organized by the Slovak Ministry of Culture in 2008, they prepared 18 concerts with works by Slovak composer Eugen Suchoň. The Czechoslovak Chamber Duo is appreciated by the public and critics for its high level of professionalism and perfect interplay. The performances of the duo convey many emotions, vitality and expressiveness.