Dmitri Shostakovich earned a living as a pianist in his early years, playing music for silent films. By the 1960s, he was performing publicly as a pianist, primarily playing his own works. Like Maurice Ravel, Shostakovich also created orchestral versions of some of his piano pieces.
The Lyric Waltz is the fifth piece from the Third Ballet Suite, which originates from the third act of the ballet "Der Hellen Bach" Op. 39, composed in 1935. The romantic melody and the polka also come from this ballet. The gavotte comes from the Third Ballet Suite. The First Ballet Suite is the source of the waltz-scherzo titled The Little Ballerina. The final dance is the only authentic composition of this characteristic suite.

• Lyric Waltz