The Johann Strauss Edition
Johann
Strauss II, the most famous and enduringly successful of 19th-century light
music composers, was born in Vienna on 25 October 1825. Building
upon the firm musical foundations laid by his father, Johann Strauss I (1804-1849)
and Joseph Lanner (1801-1843), the younger Johann (along with his brothers,
Joseph and Eduard) achieved so high a development of the classical Viennese
waltz that it became as much a feature of the concert hall as of the ballroom.
For more than half a century Johann II captivated not only Vienna but also the
whole of Europe and America with his
abundantly tuneful waltzes, polkas, quadrilles and marches. The thrice-married
'Waltz King' later turned his attention to the composition of operetta, and
completed 16 stage works besides more than 500 orchestral compositions -
including the most famous of all waltzes, The Blue Danube (1867). Johann
Strauss II died in Vienna on 3 June 1899.
The
Marco Polo Strauss Edition is a milestone in recording history, presenting, for
the first time ever, the entire orchestral output of the 'Waltz King'. Despite
their supremely high standard of musical invention, the majority of the
compositions have never before been commercially recorded and have been
painstakingly assembled from archives around the world. All performances
featured in this series are complete and, wherever possible, the works are
played in their original instrumentation as conceived by the master orchestrator
himself, Johann Strauss II.
Ninetta-Marsch
(Ninetta March) op. 447
Around
the time of the première of Johann Strauss's three-act operetta, Fürstin Ninetta
(Princess Ninetta), at the Theater an der Wien on 10 January 1893, the
Viennese humorous weekly journal, Figaro, published a caricature of the
composer by the artist Theo Zasche. Strauss is depicted, hands clasped in
supplication, with the caption: "O holy 'Simplicius', look upon
'Ritter Pásmán' and grant me the wish that 'Ninetta' is not the third of the
bunch". Neither of Johann's two previous stage works, Simplicius (1887)
and Ritter Pásmán (1892), had met with public or critical acclaim and,
privately, the composer harboured severe reservations about his latest
theatrical endeavour. The authors of Fürstin Ninetta, Julius Bauer
(1853-1941) and Hugo Wittmann (1839-1923), had deliberately refrained from
showing Strauss the entire libretto, confining themselves to sending him just
the song texts and ensemble scenes. Johann had composed enthusiastically on
this basis, but had reacted with horror when the whole plot of the operetta was
divulged to him at the final rehearsals. In the event, his fears proved largely
unfounded, and Fürstin Ninetta registered a victory at the box-office
and with the gentlemen of the press. Der Floh (15.01.1893), for example,
considered that "Johann Strauss again brought the salvation of operetta
to the Theater an der Wien for this season. The book was a success in the true
sense of the word, the music was charming and was thoroughly pleasing. Strauss
has once more spun us such delightful melodies ...".
Perhaps
nowhere was the still-youthful freshness of Johann's invention more apparent in
the score of Fürstin Ninetta than in the melodies cast in waltz and march
tempo. The best of these subsequently found their way into Strauss's purely
orchestral arrangements from the operetta, the Ninetta-Walzer (op. 445,
Volume 22 of this CD series) and the Ninetta-Marsch. For what Die Presse
(11.01.1893) termed the "exotic entrance song" (Act 1, No.
5) of the Russian Turk, Cassim Pascha, played by Alexander Girardi (1850-1918),
Strauss crafted to the words "Dort wo Slut und Wutki flissen" ('Where
blood and vodka flow') a sprightly melody which he later developed into the
opening theme (1A) of the Ninetta-Marsch. To furnish theme 1B of the march
he utilised music from the Act 2 Finale (No. 12), sung by the chorus in the
operetta and commencing with the words "Herrlich erschallt brauset und hallt
des Vulcanes Donnerruf" (¡¥The volcano's thunderous voice splendidly
rings out, booms and echoes¡¦). For the first part (theme 2A) of the Trio
section of the orchestral march the composer selected part of Ninetta's Act 1
(No. 3) entrance song, "Fremdenführer bin ich" (¡¥I am a
tourist guide¡¦), sung by Ilka Palmay (1860-1944) in the title rôle. The second
melody of the Trio (theme 2B) can be traced to an orchestral interlude which
appears during the course of the Act 3 (No. 15) quintet for Adelheid,
Anastasia, Ferdinand, Prosper and Baron Morsburg.
Like
many of the marches which Johann Strauss wrote in his later years, the jaunty Ninetta-Marsch
showed that Vienna's Waltz King could hold
his own against the marches of the military Kapellmeisters of the period.
Military bands stationed in and around the Austrian capital were swift to take
the new march into their repertoire; indeed, it was the band of Infantry
Regiment No. 2, conducted by their bandmaster Alois Kraus (1840-1923), who gave
the first performance of Strauss's Ninetta-Marsch at their concert in
the ¡¥Goldene Rose¡¦ establishment on 5 March 1893, immediately after the work
was published by August Cranz.
Irenen-Walzer
(Irene Waltz) op. 32
During
the Carnival of 1846, the work-hungry younger Johann Strauss accepted an
engagement with his orchestra to perform at a ¡¥Schützenball¡¦ (Riflemen's Ball)
in the small Hungarian border-town of Altenburg (today, Mosonmagyaróvár), organised by the Altenburg
Riflemen's Corps. For this event, held on 9 February 1846 in the Town Hall,
Strauss wrote his Altenburg-Walzer (Altenburg Waltz), which he
dedicated to the ball organisers. Regrettably, this work remained unpublished
and has been lost. The ball itself proved a great personal success for the
20-year-old Kapellmeister, and a poem ("Souvenir of the Altenburg Riflemen's Ball") was written in his honour.
Far more importantly, however, as the Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung was
later to write (1.02.1847), the organisers "were so delighted ... that
they spared no expense and trouble to secure him again" for the 1847
Carnival.
On
30 December 1846, the Viennese journal Der Wanderer published the
following notice: "This year, Herr Strauss Son has again accepted an
invitation to arrange several festive balls at Ungarisch-Altenburg [Hungarian
Altenburg]. He is expected there on 1 February [1847]".
Since Johann's activities on either side of this date are documented - he
conducted at the "Industry Reunion" in Baden-bei-Wien on 30
January 1847 (see Industrie-Quadrille op. 35, Volume 26 of this CD
series) and at a festive ball in the Straußl-Säle on 3 February 1847 - he and a
part of his orchestra probably set off for Altenburg in several carriages on
the morning of 31 January, returning on the morning of 3 February at the
latest. Even allowing for the journey being undertaken in the depths of winter,
the ensemble could thus have given performances in Altenburg between 31 January
and 2 February 1847.
The
Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung of 1 February 1847 announced that for
his Altenburg engagement Strauss had composed a Magyaren-Walzer (Magyar
Waltz), which was dedicated "to an Hungarian count". In
the absence of any reports on the ball, it cannot be determined whether the
work was first played under this title, although part of the Introduction is
indeed in the style of Hungarian national music. All that is known is that the
waltz which Johann took with him to Altenburg was later published as the Irenen-Walzer,
and that it bore the dedication: "Most respectfully dedicated to
the Right Honourable the Countess Irene Zichy by Johann Strauss Son". It
has not proved possible to ascertain whether the young Countess was present at
the first performance of the work.
The
Countess Irene Zichy, née Baroness Irene Meskó of Széklak and Enyiczke
(1823-79), had been married since 22 March 1843 to the Imperial-Royal
Chamberlain Count Heinrich Zichy-Vásonykeö. There had been links for many years
between Johann Strauss Father and his sons and the various branches of the Zichy
family: for example, the elder Johann dedicated his waltz Die Vortänzer op.
189 (1846) to the Imperial-Royal Chamberlain, Count Edmund Zichy (1811-66).
The
Irenen-Walzerwas subsequently to appear frequently in programmes of the
Strauss Orchestra in Vienna. H.F. Müller's publishing house issued the piano
edition of the work on 24 April 1847. No orchestral parts were printed, though
the publisher announced the availability of handwritten "correct
copies" for orchestra. Assuming that these were actually released on
to the market, none seems to have survived. The Irenen-Walzer has
therefore been arranged for this present recording by Ludwig Babinski, on the
basis of the piano score.
Sylphen-Polka
(Sylphs. Polka) op. 309
All
three Strauss brothers contributed dances to the ball of the Vienna Artists'
Association, 'Hesperus', held on 4 February 1866 in the Dianabad-Saal. Each of
the compositions proved popular, with Eduard's reportedly attracting the
greatest applause. Yet while his waltz, Die Hesperiden (op. 18), and
Josef's polka-mazurka Thalia (op. 195) were composed specifically as
dedications for the 'Hesperus' festivity, brother Johann's Sylphen-Polka - which
he personally conducted on the night of the ball - had been written for quite a
different occasion. Conceived with the title of Dagmar-Polka, the work honoured
the young Danish Princess Dagmar and her impending marriage into the Imperial
family of Russia.
As
he had done each year since 1856, Johann Strauss spent the summer months of
1864 at Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, conducting a series of concerts at the
Vauxhall Pavilion. The season, which had commenced on 5 May 1864 (= 23 April,
Russian calendar), was just seven days from its close when a royal proclamation
was issued. On 2 October 1864 (= 20 September) it was announced that the Danish
Princess Marie Sophia Frederika Dagmar (1847-1928), second daughter of King
Christian IX, was betrothed to the Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-65),
eldest son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Though seemingly of robust
constitution, the 22-year-old Nikolai died on 24 April 1865 (= 12 April), and
on his deathbed expressed the wish that his fiancée should marry his successor.
As a result, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (1845-94), second son of the
Tsar and heir-apparent to the Russian throne, announced his betrothal to
Princess Dagmar of Denmark on 23 June 1866 (= 11 June), and the couple were
married on 9 November 1866 (= 28 October). In accordance with long-established
tradition, the princess was thenceforth known by the Orthodox name of Maria Feodorovna.
The
exact circumstances regarding the genesis of Johann Strauss's Dagmar-Polka may
never be known, but the sequence of events may have been as follows. The
announcement of the royal betrothal prompted Strauss to dedicate a polka to the
princess, but left him insufficient time to compose it in Russia. Instead he
planned to write his Dagmar-Polka after returning to Vienna, and then
send the work to his Russian publisher so that it could be in print by the time
his 1865 Pavlovsk season opened on 7 May 1865 (= 25 April). It was indeed with
this title that Strauss's publisher in St. Petersburg, A. Büttner, issued the
polka in Russia: moreover, handwritten orchestral performing material for the
work, with each part superscribed Dagmar-Polka, has been preserved in
the library of the Maryinsky (Kirov) Theatre in St. Petersburg. When Nikolai
died unexpectedly in late April 1865, Johann felt unable to perform the Dagmar-Polka
(which was already known in Russia from its printed edition) during his
1865 Pavlovsk engagement, and returned with it to Vienna that autumn. He rechristened
it Sylphen-Polka for the Hesperus Ball during the 1866 Carnival, though
it remains a matter of conjecture whether Strauss viewed the lovely former
Princess Dagmar as a sylph-like young woman, or whether the graceful nature of
the polka suggested its new title to the composer. Whatever the truth, C.A. Spina
issued the Sylphen-Polka, complete with Johann's dedication to the
'Hesperus' Association, on 23 March 1866.
After
Tsar Alexander II's assassination by revolutionaries on 13 March 1881 (= 1
March), Maria Feodorovna reigned alongside her husband as Tsarina of Russia.
Much loved by the Russian people, she was to involve herself in education and
philanthropy, establishing new schools, hospitals and relief centres of various
kinds. Trained as a nurse during the Russo-Turkish War (1877/8), she played a
major part in developing the Russian Red Cross organisation, of which she was
the head. It was in this rôle that the Tsarina invited Johann Strauss to
conduct a series of concerts in St. Petersburg in 1886 (see notes for opp.
423-426 inclusive).
Slaven-Ball
Quadrille (Slav Ball Quadrille) op. 88
At
the height of its influence, the Habsburg Empire spread from what is now
southern Poland in the north to the southern coast of Dalmatia in the south;
from the Swiss borders of the Alps in the west to the Ukraine in the east.
Larger in area than the German Empire, it brought together some fifty million
people of eleven nationalities and even more languages.
Of
all the minority nationalistic communities of the Habsburg Empire which settled
in Vienna during the first half of the nineteenth century, perhaps none exerted
more attraction for Johann Strauss Son than the Slavic races. In addition, not
only did the young Kapellmeister express a certain predilection for native Slav
music, but he demonstrated his considerable understanding of it by utilising
several of its melodies in his compositions. For their part, the
representatives of the Slavic peoples resident in the Austrian capital held the
talented musician in high regard and engaged him for many of their national
events. It was therefore entirely natural that they turned to Strauss and his
orchestra to provide the musical entertainment for a Slav Ball being organised
for 17 February 1851 in the Sofienbad-Saal.
As
a further contribution to this festivity, Johann concocted an appropriate
quadrille. Although there was press coverage of the Slav Ball in the Sofienbad-Saal,
no newspaper specifically named the quadrille which Johann performed. Der
Humorist (19.02.1851), for example, simply remarked: "We find it
completely appropriate that Slavic melodies should be used as the basis of the
quadrilles [sic!]; the Krakoviak and, in general, the Polish tunes which
have been interwoven fit particularly pleasingly". Since Strauss was
engaged to provide the music for the Slav Ball, and as the eponymous quadrille
clearly takes its name from such an event, the Slaven-Ball Quadrille may
safely be assumed to have been the work performed on this occasion. Johann's
op. 88 utilises music from the repertoire of Slav songs and dances which were
then familiar in Vienna. The first theme of the 'Finale' (No. 6) section
derives from the folk song "Dornröschen war ein schönes Kind" ("Sleeping
Beauty was a beautiful child"), an air known also in Croatia under the
title "Na kamen sjela Vidica" ("Upon a stone sits Vidica").
For the third theme of the 'Poule' (No. 3) section, Strauss re-used the melody
of a Moravian song (in translation: "Water flows from the stream to the
river") he had earlier featured as the Andante second section
of his Slaven Potpourri op. 39 (Volume 34 of this CD series).
Although
the Slaven-Ball Quadrille seems to have been written especially for the
Slav Ball held on 17 February 1851, there is evidence of an earlier performance.
On 9 February 1851, Der Wanderer carried the following report: 'The
rehearsal of the music which is to be played at this year's Slav Ball (17th of
this month in the Sofienbadsaal) took place the evening before last [ie. 7
February 1851] at the hall 'Zum Strauss' [= Zum Goldenen Strauss in Josefstadt]
in public and with an admission charge. The pieces played were a polonaise
and kolo by [Vatroslav] Lisinski ... a quadrille and two waltzes by
Strauss, who performed all the aforementioned musical items with his orchestra.
Among the new original compositions, [Anton Emil] Titl's 'Slavjanka-Polka'
was received the best and had to be played three times. Of those by Strauss,
the quadrille met with the most ardent approval ...". For the
rationale stated above, there is every reason to identify this quadrille as the
composer's Slaven-Ball Quadrille op. 88.
Pietro
Mechetti published the Slaven-Ball Quadrille later in 1851 in editions
for piano, violin and piano, and full orchestra. Regrettably, however, no set
of orchestral parts has been found to date, and the composition has therefore
been arranged for this present recording by Christian Pollack.
Hell
und voll. Walzer (Bright and full. Waltz) op. 216
The
Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung of 22 January 1859 published the names
of the dance compositions which Johann Strauss had written for the forthcoming
carnival season. Amongst them, the paper announced his dedication for the first
of that year's formal balls, that of the medical students at Vienna University:
it was to be a waltz with the title Hell und often (Bright and clear).
Yet the waltz which Johann unveiled with the Strauss Orchestra three days later
at the Medical Students' Ball in the Sofienbad-Saal on 25 January 1859 bore an
amended name: Hell und voll (Bright and full).
Reporting
on the ball, the reviewer for the Fremden-Blatt (27.01.1859) plainly recognised
the need for partially explaining the title of this latest Strauss work,
obscure to anyone without expertise in the medical field. "The new
waltz by Johann Strauss, composed especially for this ball and called 'Hell und
voll' after the technical term used in percussion, was very warmly
received". Percussion, a clinical advance of premier importance, was
of great value to physicians as a means of detecting chest diseases and
outlining the position of internal organs. Consisting of tapping a part of a
patient's body with the fingers, it was invented by the Graz-born Austrian
physician, Leopold Auenbrugger (1722-1809), whose work was published in his New
Invention for Discovering Obscure Thoracic Diseases by Percussion of the Chest (1762).
Strauss's choice of waltz title indicates a healthy prognosis: when the patient
is fit and well, a bright and resonant note will result from percussion of the
chest.
Strauss's
publisher, Carl Haslinger, took great pains to ensure that he capitalised
without delay on the success of the rhythmic Hell und voll. He
advertised the publication of the work on 30 January 1859, causing the Wiener
Allgemeine Theaterzeitung (2.02.1859) to observe: "The amazingly
swift publication of the medical students' dances, 'Hell und voll', which Herr
Kapellmeister Johann Strauss favourably performed for the first time only a few
days ago, provides exceptional proof of the remarkable activity of the
Imperial-Royal Court Music Dealer, Carl Haslinger": The first piano
edition bears the inscription: "Respectfully dedicated to the Gentlemen
Students of Medicine by Johann Strauss".
This
present Marco Polo recording utilises the orchestral parts issued in 1859 by Haslinger's
publishing house.
I
Tipferl-Polka française (The Cot on the 'i'. French polka) op. 377
While
the critics universally condemned the libretto of Johann Strauss's three-act
comic operetta Prinz Methusalem (Prince Methuselah) when the stage work
opened at Vienna's Carl-Theater on 3 January 1877, they generally praised the
music. Writing in the Fremden-Blatt on 4 January 1877, Ludwig Speidel
observed: "The extraordinarily comprehensive score shows the transition
and development which Strauss has gone through between 'Indigo', his first
attempt at operetta, and 'Prinz Methusalem'. In the new piece there is a much
greater multiplicity of expression and form than in the early works, and the
dance tunes appear to be considerably reduced". The critic continued: "The
principal comic rôle, entrusted to Herr Matras, was in the safest hands. In 'Prinz
Methusalem' the popular comic actor has found one of his best and most
worthwhile rôles and, in particular, the performance of the comic song ['Das
Tipferl auf dem i'] must be labelled as incomparable". By common
consent at the time, this couplet, sung by the diminutive Viennese-born Josef Matras
(1832-87) in the rôle of Sigismund, Prince of Trocadero, was one of the
highlights of Act 2.
Matras's
special strength lay in his outstanding delivery of comic songs and, in a
distinguished career, none was to bring him greater acclaim than Strauss's "Das
Tipferl auf dem i". The rhyming of Sigismund's couplet (No. 12 in the
printed score of the operetta) was probably the work of Karl Treumann
(1824-77), who adapted Prinz Methusalem for the stage from the French
original by Victor Wilder and Alfred Delacour. Towards the end of the song
appear the words: "Am End' fand man das *Zipferl, / die Ursach' ist
halt die: / der Mann vergass das Tipferl, / das Tipferl auf dem i!"
('Finally the loose end was found, / the reason for it was: / the man
forgot the little dot, / the dot upon the i!'). Strauss's 'pointed' music for
this number ideally matches the amusing text. Very swiftly the popularity of
the couplet gave rise to parodic verses by C. Reder, which were published in
Vienna: entitled "Das Stricherl auf dem ŭ", the text concerns
the Germanic custom of distinguishing the letter 'n' from 'u' by writing the
symbol £¾ over the latter.
Johann
Strauss's purely orchestral I Tipferl-Polka takes its name, as well as
the music for its Trio section, from Sigismund's Act 2 couplet "Das Tipferl
auf dem i". Its remaining themes are drawn from the following sources
in the operetta:
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