Ludwig van Beethoven

Aside from the Diabelli Variations, Beethoven's piano composition of the 1820s are musical miniatures with the effects of large-scale gestures compressed into a few measures.

The Waltz in D major, WoO 85, was composed in 1825, while Beethoven was immersed in work on his last string quartets. With a dedication, by the publisher, to Princess Sophie of Austria, the Waltz in D major was first printed in 1825 as part of C. F. Müller's collection of light music entitled Seyd uns zum zweytenmal willkommen!

Possibly the most unusual aspect of the Waltz in D major is that both the right and left hands remain in the treble register throughout, forcing the right hand to play in a very high register and producing a "music box" effect. In two eight-measure parts, the piece derives its contrast from harmony. The first phrase moves to the dominant in the middle and repeats its first half to return to the tonic. The second phrase is built from the same figurations as the first, creating a sense of a unified whole. Throughout this thinly textured piece the mood is light and cheerful.