Post by erik on Aug 27, 2022 12:58:54 GMT -5
One of the many ultra-popular waltzes of the Zen master of the form, Johann Strauss II, is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Johann Strauss II: EMPEROR WALTZ, OP.437
Few composers throughout history are as well-known in a single field as Johann Strauss II. The son of a similarly-named composer who didn’t want any of his children to follow in the “family business”, Johann II perfected the Viennese waltz form with almost Zen-like precision throughout the second half of the 19th century, engendering admiration from two composers who otherwise had nothing in common—Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Works like “The Blue Danube” and “Tales From The Vienna Woods”, while waltzes on the surface, almost function as symphonic tone poems in ¾ time. Another hugely popular example is what would be called the “Emperor Waltz”. Like many of Strauss’ waltzes, it begins with a gradual introduction into the main body of music, this time with a march. Originally Strauss wanted to call this work “Hand In Hand”, but the composer’s publisher Fritz Simrock, who was also associated with Brahms and Dvorak, suggested the more colorful title “Emperor” for a toast made by Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I to his German counterpart Wilhelm II during the summer of 1889. The Emperor Waltz was to find considerable popularity during the remaining decade of Strauss’ lifetime; and by the time his city’s home orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, had begun its tradition of New Year’s Day concerts, it was put to good use, usually every two to three years (but only “The Blue Danube” and the “Radetsky March” were mandatory for each Vienna New Year’s celebration). By the early 20th century, the popularity of the Emperor Waltz and its companions in Strauss’ catalog had found their way across the Atlantic to the United States as well.
London Philharmonic Orchestra/FRANZ WELSER MOST (EMI)
Included (All-Strauss):
AN ARTIST’S LIFE, OP. 316
ROSES FROM THE SOUTH, OP. 388
OVERTURE TO “THE GYPSY BARON”
TALES FROM THE VIENNA WOODS, OP. 325
OVERTURE TO “DIE FLEDERMAUS”
THE BLUE DANUBE, OP. 314
Johann Strauss II: EMPEROR WALTZ, OP.437
Few composers throughout history are as well-known in a single field as Johann Strauss II. The son of a similarly-named composer who didn’t want any of his children to follow in the “family business”, Johann II perfected the Viennese waltz form with almost Zen-like precision throughout the second half of the 19th century, engendering admiration from two composers who otherwise had nothing in common—Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Works like “The Blue Danube” and “Tales From The Vienna Woods”, while waltzes on the surface, almost function as symphonic tone poems in ¾ time. Another hugely popular example is what would be called the “Emperor Waltz”. Like many of Strauss’ waltzes, it begins with a gradual introduction into the main body of music, this time with a march. Originally Strauss wanted to call this work “Hand In Hand”, but the composer’s publisher Fritz Simrock, who was also associated with Brahms and Dvorak, suggested the more colorful title “Emperor” for a toast made by Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I to his German counterpart Wilhelm II during the summer of 1889. The Emperor Waltz was to find considerable popularity during the remaining decade of Strauss’ lifetime; and by the time his city’s home orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, had begun its tradition of New Year’s Day concerts, it was put to good use, usually every two to three years (but only “The Blue Danube” and the “Radetsky March” were mandatory for each Vienna New Year’s celebration). By the early 20th century, the popularity of the Emperor Waltz and its companions in Strauss’ catalog had found their way across the Atlantic to the United States as well.
London Philharmonic Orchestra/FRANZ WELSER MOST (EMI)
Included (All-Strauss):
AN ARTIST’S LIFE, OP. 316
ROSES FROM THE SOUTH, OP. 388
OVERTURE TO “THE GYPSY BARON”
TALES FROM THE VIENNA WOODS, OP. 325
OVERTURE TO “DIE FLEDERMAUS”
THE BLUE DANUBE, OP. 314