Spring concert in the Golden Hall

Josef Strauss
Mysterious Powers of Attraction (Dynamiden) / Waltz
op. 173 (1865)

For the ball of the association of Industrial Companies held on 30 January 1865 in the Redoutensäle rooms in the Hofburg, the imperial palace in Vienna, Josef Strauss composed a waltz to which he gave the title Dynamiden. This is a term coined in 1857 by Ferdinand Jacob Redtenbacher, the founder of the science of mechanical engineering, and by it he meant the basis for the molecular forces which are responsible for keeping together and attracting substances. It is worth mentioning that Josef Strauss was himself a qualified engineer — and also that the reports of the ball that appeared in newspapers made no mention whatsoever of his name.

In fact the Wiener Zeitung even claimed to know that it was Johann Strauss who had conducted the waltz. On the other hand they all agreed that the new waltz had been very well received, although it is not known whether the symphonic introduction, a musical gem, was played then or not until the first concert performance of the work, given at the Volksgarten establishment in Vienna on 5 March 1865. This was the concert at which the three Strauss brothers played all the new dances they had composed for the Carnival season which had just ended.

In the announcements for the concert a phrase in brackets was added to the title, giving a more generally comprehensible and more poetic explanation as well as a perfect characterisation of that introduction: Mysterious Powers of Attraction. In the printed edition of the piano arrangement this finally became the new main title of the work, with the opus number 173.

Someone who was evidently attracted to the work was Richard Strauss (no relation of the Viennese Strausses). He quotes the opening waltz theme with only minor alterations in his opera Der Rosenkavalier. It is not known whether he did so consciously or unconsciously; however, the great similarity makes it virtually impossible to believe this happened by chance.

Synopsis: Dr. Thomas Aigner

Translation: Dr. Leigh H. Bailey

Josef Strauss: Mysterious Powers of Attraction (Dynamiden) / Waltz op. 173 (1865)
© by WienBibliothek im Rathaus (2021)

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Sunday, 15. May 201611.00 o' clock
Vienna ⁄ Musikverein ⁄ The Große Musikvereinssaal

Spring concert in the Golden Hall
«Eduard-Strauss-Schwerpunkt» anlässlich des 100. Todestages

Johannes Wildner conductor

Program
Heinz Sandauer : Festive Fanfare of the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra
Johann Strauss II : Overture to the operetta "The Gypsy Baron"
Eduard Strauss I : Brakes off / Quick polka op. 238
Josef Strauss : Heart’s Sorrow / Orchestral Fantasy *
Eduard Strauss I : Jubilee Waltz / Waltz op. 296
Josef Strauss : Ardent Love / Polka mazurka op. 129
Johann Strauss II : Vienna Blood / Waltz op. 354
Johann Strauss II : Thunder and Lightning / Quick polka op. 324
Break Josef Strauss : Allegro fantastique / Orchestral Fantasy*
Josef Strauss : Mysterious Powers of Attraction (Dynamiden) / Waltz op. 173
Johann Strauss II : Csárdás from the opera «Knight Pásmán» op. 441
Johann Strauss II : The Sighs of the Liguorian Monks / Playful polka op. 57
Johann & Josef Strauss : Pizzicato Polka
Eduard Strauss I : Who’ll Join the Dance? / Quick polka op. 251
Johann Strauss II : The Blue Danube / Waltz op. 314
Encore Johann Strauss II : Niko-Polka (Quick polka) op. 228
Josef Strauss : Eingesendet / Polka schnell op. 240
Johann Strauss I : Radetzky March op. 228

Hinweis:
* Bei den mit dem Stern gekennzeichneten Werken handelt es sich um eine österreichische Erstaufführung.
Wir danken der Wienbibliothek im Rathaus für die Zurverfügungstellung des Notenmaterials und die wertvolle wissenschaftliche Kooperation!

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© by Lukas Beck

Johannes Wildner
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