In 1889, when Tchaikovsky was 49 years old and at the height of his fame and powers, he composed his ballet The Sleeping Beauty–based on a romantic fairy tale. An elaborate waltz is performed and Princess Aurora arrives:
No.6 Grande valse villageoise (a.k.a. The Garland Waltz)
Undeniably, Tchaikovsky wrote the best waltz music. This waltz is just as popular as other Tchaikovsky classics, as well as the ballet suite–people hear it in Disney movie music tracks, Tom and Jerry, restaurants, and even elevators. The original version is pure perfection, absolute perfection:
Listen here for Karajan’s version, recorded in the 1970s and released by Deutsche Grammaphon, simply, being the most powerful waltz ever written and performed.