1,000 Days of Piano - Day 44: Little Waltz

I like to think Little Waltz by Cornelius Gurlitt is about a daydream. A young girl at her first party is waltzing with a boy she’s known since childhood. She’s wearing her best dress, and the boy is looking unusually fine, but she views the whole affair in the harsh light of reality tinged with adolescent angst. In the first section of the piece (in B minor), she and her partner are awkward and nervous. She spills lemonade on her gown, and he steps on her toes. She gives herself up a a lovely daydream as the music modulates to F-sharp major. She is older, more confident, and her dress is covered with a filmy lace. Her partner is likewise transformed, and together they glide trough the dance with magically perfect steps...until, with the return of the first theme, she comes waltzing back to earth. They make it to the end of the dance, after which they exchange nervous smiles.