Ian Deterling

Blue Danube Flexible Instrumentation

The Blue Danube (Johann Strauss II)

  • flexible instrumentation

    • Grade 3

  • ca. 6:30 (with repeats); ca. 4:30 (without repeats/1st endings)

Score/Parts PDF Previews

Program Notes

Composed by Johann Strauss II. Arranged by Ian Deterling.

  • The Blue Danube (An Der schönen, blauen Donau) was written by Austrian composer Johann Strauss II (1825-1899). Originally composed in 1867 as a choral piece, Strauss adapted the piece for orchestra the same year. Known as the “waltz king,” The Blue Danube is one of Strauss’s best known works and features five different waltz themes linked one after another. This light-hearted work has been used in various films and television shows, making it become one of the world’s most recognizable pieces of music.

  • I made a number of alterations to make this piece more accessible for younger musicians:

    • The entire piece is transposed down a whole step (now it begins in concert C and ends in concert G).

    • The original has seven different key changes (with it transposed down, the key centers are C, G, C, Ab, C, F, Eb, and G). Instead of frequent key changes, the first seven key centers are written with the same key signature (concert C) with any needed accidentals. I kept the key change for the last section of concert G.

    • I wrote additional percussion parts (if you have a percussion section that you need to keep busy!)

    • There are many recordings of the original that have similar tempo changes. These changes aren't explicitly written in the score, so I included some in this arrangement (acce., rit., rall., più mosso, meno mosso....)

    • There are many repeats in this piece that can be omitted for a shorter performance:

      • With repeats: about 6'00"

      • Without repeats: about 4'30"

  • This arrangement of 'The Blue Danube' by Strauss is arranged into five parts plus percussion. The instrumentation is as follows:

    • Part 1 - Flute; Oboe; Bb Clarinet; Bb Trumpet; Violin

    • Part 2 - Bb Clarinet; Bb Trumpet; Eb Alto Saxophone; Violin

    • Part 3 - Bb Tenor Saxophone; Bb Clarinet; Eb Alto Saxophone; F Horn; Viola

    • Part 4 - Bb Tenor Saxophone; Euphonium (bass and treble clef); F Horn; Trombone; Bassoon; Cello

    • Part 5 - Euphonium (bass and treble clef); Bb Bass Clarinet; Baritone Saxophone; Trombone; Bassoon; Cello; Contrabass; Tuba

    • Percussion

      • Percussion 1 - Snare Drum; Bass Drum

      • Percussion 2 - Tambourine; Triangle; Crash Cymbals

      • Mallet Percussion

      • Timpani (2 or 3 drums)

  • Score and complete set of parts.

What do I get when I order The Blue Danube?

  • You will receive the score and parts in the form of three PDFs:

    • Score formatted to Tabloid paper, 11” x 17” (279mm x 432mm)

    • Score formatted to US Letter-size paper, 8.5” x 11” (216mm x 279mm)

    • Complete set of parts

  • Once your order has been processed, you’ll be emailed a link where you can download the sheet music.

  • When you click on the link to download your music, you’ll be brought to the download page (see image)

Download page for The Blue Danube

  • Note that the score and parts are separated into different PDF files.

  • You can download everything (‘Download All’ button at the bottom), save the files to Dropbox, or download selected score/parts individually.

  • My website is set to three download attempts (see ‘3 downloads remaining’ in the image). If an error occurs or if you need additional download attempts, contact me here and I’ll reset the limit for you.