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Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) 100 Most Famous Works Vol. 6 Johann Strauss II, the most famous and enduringly successful nineteenth century light music...

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Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)

100 Most Famous Works Vol. 6

Johann Strauss II, the most famous and enduringly successful nineteenth century light music composer, 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, Josef 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 appeal of his music bridged all social strata, and his genius was revered by such masters as Verdi, Brahms and Richard Strauss. The thrice-married "Waltz King" later turned his attention to the composition of operetta, and completed 16 stage works (among them Die Fledermaus, Eine Nacht in Venedig and Der Zigeunerbaron) 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, from which these recordings were selected, 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.

[1] Die Gottin Der Vernunft (The Goddess of Reason) Overture

After the first performance at the Theater an der Wien on 6 April 1897, the overture to Die Gottin der Vernunft was only rarely heard outside the theatre.

By the time Johann eventually furnished the overture, the concert season for Vienna's civilian and military bands had drawn to a close. For his part, Eduard Strauss conducted his last concert of the 1896/97 season with the Strauss Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein on Sunday 28 March 1897. He then gave two concerts in Graz before travelling with the orchestra to London to fulfil a three-month engagement at the Imperial Institute in Kensington. Eduard had clearly hoped to perform the overture to Die Gottin der Vernunft during his London season, for on 9 May 1897 he informed his brother: "At your instigation Berte promised the overture in writing, but hasn't sent it!!! Dreadful!". In the event, no performance of the overture can be traced in London during Eduard's visit. Indeed, not until 21 November 1897, at Eduard's fifth Sunday concert of the 1897/98 season in the Musikverein, did the overture to Die Gottin der Vernunft appear on the programme of a concert by the Strauss Orchestra.

[2] Liebeslieder, Walzer (Love Song's, Waltz) Op. 114

It took the younger Johann Strauss around three years to establish himself on Vienna's musical scene as a worthy successor to his father, following the latter's death in September 1849. During the 1852 Carnival he was summoned for the first time to conduct at the Court- and Chamber-Balls, and an article in the Theaterzeitung, praising his talents, affirmed: "It now turns out for certain that Strauss Father has been fully replaced by Strauss Son".

Johann's Liebeslieder may be considered the first of the composer's 'master waltzes', demonstrating the young Waltz King's individuality, sometimes through daring developments in melody, harmony and rhythm. Originally announced under the title Liebesgedichte ('Love Poems'), and given its first performance by Johann in the Vienna Volksgarten on 18 June 1852 under the title Liebesstandchen ('Love Serenade'), the enchanting Liebeslieder Walzer even won over the usually austere music critic, Eduard Hanslick. Writing in the Wiener Zeitung he observed: "Those bad-tempered, old-fashioned people, whose narrow-mindedness goes so far as to call today's dance music contemptible, should be serenaded with ashaming generosity by the 'Liebeslieder' of the young Strauss."

[3] Vom Donaustrande, Polka schnell

(From the Banks of the Danube, Quick polka) Op. 356

Johann Strauss chose to dub his second stage work, Der Carneval in Rom [Premi�re: Theater an der Wien, Vienna. 1 March 1873], "my polka opera" and from its score he crafted a total of five separate orchestral numbers - a waltz (op. 357), a quadrille (op. 360) and three polkas (opp. 356, 358 and 359). With one exception - the polka Nimm sie hin op. 358 - the titles of these dances had no connection with the plot of the operetta but rather anticipated the Vienna World Exhibition which opened in the Prater on 1 May 1873.

The polka Vom Donaustrande presents material from Acts 2 and 3 of the operetta, specifically; Theme 1A - Act 2 Duet (No. 9); Theme 1B - Act 3 Finale (No. 16); Trio 2A - Act 2 Finale (No. 12); Trio 2B - Act 3 Ballet music (No.16 Finale).

[4] Cagliostro-Walzer Op.370

Cagliostro in Wien ('Cagliostro in Vienna'), the fourth of Johann Strauss's operettas, received its premi�re at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 27 February 1875, and was to mark the start of the composer's successful collaboration with Vienna's most famous team of librettists, F. Zell (the nom de plume of Camillo Walzel) and Richard Genee.

While the first-night reviewers identified many highlights in Strauss's score for Cagliostro in Wien, they were universally agreed on the sheer beauty of the waltz duet "Konnt' ich mit Ihnen fiegen durchs Leben"

('Could I but fly with you through life'), splendidly sung in Act 2 by Henriette Wieser (as Frau Adami) and Alexander Girardi (as the servant, Blasoni). The Neues Fremden-Blatt (28.02.1875), for example, considered this waltz "one of the most enchanting and freshest which Johann Strauss has ever written; it provoked such all enthusiastic response that it had to be sung three times". Ludwig Speidel, the reviewer for the Fremden-Blatt (3.03.1875), also noted the special quality of this waltz duet, "in which there breathes the dancing soul of Vienna". Speidel expanded further "When you imagine that Strauss has already played his best cards, he finally produces another waltz which 'out-trumps' everything". Strauss, too, recognised the worth of his creation in three-quarter-time, not only elevating it to a principal position in his orchestral Cagliostro-Walzer, based on melodies from the operetta, but later (1882 or 1883) jotting down its opening eight bars on a love note to Adele Strauss (nee Deutsch), the woman who was to become his third wife.

[5] Klipp klapp-Galopp, Schnell-Polka

(Click-clack, Galop, Quick polka) Op. 466

Waldmeister ('Woodruff') was Johann Strauss's penultimate original operetta, receiving its premi�re at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, on 4 December 1895. Despite its relatively brief stage life, Waldmeister was, in many respects, the most successful of the composer's later theatre works, and contained some delightful moments, such as a "Lawn-Tennis-Chorus" for the ladies! In his obituary notice for Johann Strauss, written in June 1899, the retired Viennese music critic, Eduard Hanslick, wrote: "What stands out even in Strauss's less inventive operettas is the genuine musical feeling, the natural flow of song and, finally, the wonderful orchestration. At the premi�re of 'Der Waldmeister', Brahms remarked to me that Strauss's orchestrations reminded him of Mozart".

Strauss created a total of six separate orchestral numbers from the score of Waldmeister, among them the quick polka Klipp klapp, echoing the rhythmic sound of a working mill. The galop's title and principal theme derive from the Act I ensemble, "Klipp, klapp, klipp, klapp, rasch dem Gl�cke nach", although it should be mentioned that this same theme is re quoted in purely orchestral form (in the correct key of F) in the 'Melodrama' section of the Act II Finale. The sources of the remaining melodies are as follows.

Disc 1

Die Gottin der Vernunft

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter

Die Gottin der Vernunft, Overture - 6:44

Liebeslieder, Op. 114

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter

Liebeslieder, Waltzer, Op. 114 - 7:12

Vom Donaustrande, Op. 356

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter

Vom Donaustrande, Polka schnell, Op. 356 - 2:59

Cagliostro, Op. 370

(more info)

Performed by: Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra, Katowice Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Michael Dittrich Oliver Dohnanyi

Cagliostro-Waltzer, Op. 370 - 9:12

Klipp-Klapp, Op. 466

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter Johannes Wildner

Klipp-Klapp, Galopp, Op. 466 - 2:24

Erinnerung an Covent Garden, Op. 329

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice London Symphony Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter John Georgiadis

Erinnerung an Covent Garden, Waltzer, Op. 329 - 7:34

Perpetuum mobile, Op. 257, "Musikalischer Scherz" (Musical Joke)

(more info)

Performed by: Vienna State Opera Orchestra Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice BBC Philharmonic Orchestra CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter Jascha Horenstein Heinz Karl Gruber Ondrej Lenard Martin Sieghart Vakhtang Kakhidze

Perpetuum mobile, Musikalischer Scherz, Op. 257 - 3:02

Gross-Wien, Op. 440

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter

Gross-Wien, Waltzer, Op. 440 - 8:03

Tritsch-Tratsch, Op. 214

(more info)

Performed by: Vienna State Opera Orchestra Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava Johann Strauss Orchestra Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra New Symphony Orchestra of London Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter Jascha Horenstein Ondrej Lenard Martin Sieghart Johannes Wildner Alexander Gibson Jack Rothstein Vakhtang Kakhidze
Recording date: 11-21 January 1988

Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214 - 2:37

Rosen aus dem Suden, Op. 388

(more info)

Performed by: Vienna Symphony Orchestra Vienna State Opera Orchestra Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava Johann Strauss Orchestra Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna Volksoper Orchestra Vienna Strauss Orchestra
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter Jascha Horenstein Yakov Kreizberg Ondrej Lenard Martin Sieghart Jack Rothstein Alfred Scholz Joseph Francek

Rosen aus dem Suden, Waltzer, Op. 388 - 8:26

Hoch Osterreich, Op. 371

(more info)

Performed by: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Composed by: Johann Strauss II
Conducted by: Alfred Walter

Hoch Osterreich!, Marsch, Op. 371 - 2:53

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Composer(s):
Strauss II, Johann

Conductor(s):
Dohnanyi, Oliver; Walter, Alfred

Orchestra(s):
Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra, Katowice; Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra; Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice

Strauss II: 100 Most Famous Works, Vol. 6

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148

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