[1] Balanchine conceived the idea of Vienna Waltzes, a large-scale homage to Austria, over a year before he started working on it, having previously made Union Jack, a tribute to Great Britain.
"[3] Suzanne Farrell, one of Balanchine's favourite dancers, called Vienna Waltzes "his last word on the survival of romanticism.
[4]: 236 However, d'Amboise dropped out due to an injury, so the role was made on new member Sean Lavery, who found Balanchine worked quickly.
[5] Speaking about large-scale ballets such as Vienna Waltzes and Union Jack, original cast member Kay Mazzo said, "it was fun.
[7] Following Balanchine's death, the world rights of Vienna Waltzes and five other ballets went to original cast member Karin von Aroldingen.
[8] The first three sections of the ballet are all set in a woodland, with five trees Balanchine specifically requested, and choreographed to scores by Johann Strauss II.
325, led by a woman in pink gown and man in military uniform, alongside a corps de ballet of ten couples, as New York Times critic Anna Kisselgoff described, "strolling through a forest of five prop trees.
43, led by what Gruen called "a couple of most unexpected appearance," with the woman in a corseted attire and the man in striped tights.
[1][7] In this section, the scenery is transformed to what Ter-Arutunian described as "a land that is neither forest nor a salon," inspired by Jugendstil, a counterpart of Art Nouveau.
[1][5] Vienna Waltzes premiered on June 23, 1977 at the New York State Theater,[9]: 418 following a preview performance a week prior.
[4]: 306–307 In 1983, Vienna Waltzes was filmed for the PBS broadcast A Lincoln Center Special: A New York City Ballet Tribute to George Balanchine,[10][11] with most of the original cast returning.
[12] In 1993, the Der Rosenkavalier section of Vienna Waltzes was filmed for PBS broadcast "The Balanchine Celebration," led by Stephanie Saland, Adam Lüders, and also featured Kyra Nichols, Lindsay Fisher, Heather Watts, Jock Soto, Simone Schumacher, Alexandre Proia, Maria Calegari and Erlends Zieminch.
[12] The New York City Ballet released an archival video recording of Vienna Waltzes online in June 2021, as a response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.