Posts in Johann Strauss

Johann Strauss - Love Songs Op. 114 Liebeslieder op. 114 is a waltz by Johann Strauss II written in 1852 (not to be confused with Brahms's similarly titled Liebeslieder Walzer and Neue Liebeslieder). At the time it was conceived, the waltz was titled 'Liebesgedichte' or "Love Poems" and during its first performance, it was even announced as 'Liebesständchen' or "Love Serenade". The first performance was at the famed Vienna Volksgarten on 18 June 1852 under the composer's direction. 'Liebeslieder' stands among the master works of the Strauss Jr., who had, since 1849 an enduringly difficult time convincing the Viennese that his works deserve the attention it sought. The fierce and uncompromising Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick was even captivated by this waltz by writing in the journal "Wiener Zeitung" the following extract "Those bad-tempered old-fashioned people, whose narrow-mindedness goes far as to call today's dance music contemptible should be serenaded with ashaming generosity by the 'Liebeslieder' of the young Johann Strauss." By essence, the waltz is a love serenade of sorts in 3/4 time. The waltz starts quietly with pizzicato on the strings section of the orchestra before a full-bodied 'forte' signals the beginning of the waltz sections. The first theme is that of a yearning feeling, before accelerating into a strong melody. The mood of the rest of the piece alternates between lushly romantic moods as well as light-heartedness, with the flute gently serenading the waltz sections 4 and 5. The piece ends dramatically, with a sense of anticipation, on a timpani drumroll and brass flourish. The waltz also features on many arrangements with a string orchestra as well as a quintet of strings. Curiously, many of these arrangements are labelled as 'Music of the Old Vienna' when played with such an arrangement, as it could be possible that Strauss' melodies in this waltz invokes the feeling of the romance of the Old Vienna. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Strauss

Johann Strauss - Vienna Blood Op. 354 Wiener Blut ('Viennese Blood', 'Vienna Blood' or 'Viennese Spirit') Op. 354 is a waltz by Johann Strauss II first performed by the composer on 22 April 1873. The new dedication waltz was to celebrate the wedding of the Emperor Franz Joseph I's daughter Archduchess Gisela Louise Maria and Prince Leopold of Bavaria. However, the waltz was also chiefly noted by Strauss' biographers as the début of Strauss with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra where for many years, the Philharmonic had dismissed any association with the 'Waltz King' as it had not wished to be associated with mere 'light' or 'pops' music. The festival ball celebrating the event was held at the Musikverein Hall which is the venue for the present day Neujahrskonzert. 'Wiener Blut' is one of a handful of late works by Strauss that were not composed for the stage; at this point in his career he was concentrating on writing for the performing stage, and not for the ballroom, and had written at least two operettas before penning this waltz, with Die Fledermaus still to come. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Strauss

Richard Strauss - Ein Heldenleben op 40 Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be autobiographical in nature, despite contradictory statements on the matter by the composer, the work contains more than thirty quotations from Strauss's earlier works, including Also sprach Zarathustra, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Death and Transfiguration. Strauss began work on the piece while staying in a Bavarian mountain resort in July 1898. He proposed to write a heroic work in the mould of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony: "It is entitled 'A Hero's Life', and while it has no funeral march, it does have lots of horns, horns being quite the thing to express heroism. Thanks to the healthy country air, my sketch has progressed well and I hope to finish by New Year's Day." Strauss worked on Ein Heldenleben and another tone poem, Don Quixote, during 1898. He regarded the two as complementary, saying they were conceived as "direct pendants" to one another. There was speculation before the premiere about the identity of the hero. Strauss was equivocal: he commented "I'm no hero: I'm not made for battle", and in a programme note he wrote that subject of the piece was "not a single poetical or historical figure, but rather a more general and free ideal of great and manly heroism." On the other hand, in the words of the critic Richard Freed: The music, though, points stubbornly to its own author as its subject, and Strauss did concede, after all, in a remark to the writer Romain Rolland, that he found himself "no less interesting than Napoleon," and his gesture of conducting the premiere himself instead of leaving that honor to the respected dedicatee [i.e., Willem Mengelberg] may well be viewed as further confirmation of the work's self-congratulatory character. For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Strauss

Johann Strauss II (born Johann Baptist Strauss; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger, the Son (German: Sohn), son of Johann Strauss I, was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century. Strauss had two younger brothers, Josef and Eduard Strauss, who became composers of light music as well, although they were never as well known as their elder brother. Some of Johann Strauss's most famous works include "The Blue Danube", "Kaiser-Walzer" (Emperor Waltz), "Tales from the Vienna Woods", and the "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka". Among his operettas, Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron are the best known. Johann Strauss Tracklist: 1. Abertura de la opereta: O Barão Cigano 2. Polka de Ana, Op. 117 3. Valsa do Imperador, Op. 437 4. Klange aus der Raimundzeit, Op. 479 5. Polka Tritsch-Tratsch, Op. 214 6. Vinho, Mulheres e Canto, Op. 333 7. Polka Champagne, Op. 211 8. Czardas da Opereta: O Morcego 9. Polka Im Krapfenwald'l, Op. 336 10. Abertura de Opereta: Uma noite em Veneza 11. Vinho, Mulheres e Canto, Op. 333 12. Valsa do Imperador, Op. 437 13. Valsas - Canções de, Amor Op. 114 14. Sangue Vienense, Op. 354 15. Rosas do Sul, Op. 388 16. Valsas do Tesouro, Op 418 For more: http://www.melhoresmusicasclassicas.blogspot.com #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Strauss