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Josef Strauss
Heart’s Sorrow / Orchestral Fantasy *
(1862)

In 1862 Josef Strauss had to stand in at short notice for his brother Johann in Pavlovsk near St Petersburg and complete the summer season there. In the hope of getting a regular engagement in Pavlovsk in the following years he tried to win over the promoter, the public and the press with a wealth of new compositions.

As early as 25 July [6 August NS] he informed Carl Haslinger, his publisher in Vienna, ‘Here I’m composing a polka mazurka, a quick polka, a quadrille (which is very necessary here), and little fantasy pieces with a sighing, kisscurling cello and with a plucked gridiron [i.e. a harp].’ As a model for the use of such a combination of instruments Josef may have been thinking of the two romances which his brother Johann composed in Pavlovsk, works of this kind having been very popular in Russia at that time. However, it seems that a contribution by Josef along these lines did not get beyond the planning stage, but at least his creative interest in the genre of the orchestral fantasy did produce actual results. Peine du Coeur (Heart’s Sorrow), the first such piece he composed, was first performed in Pavlovsk in 1862 and does after all have a lyrical horn solo. There is no harp, and it is only the double bass that is plucked. What was probably new for the audience in Pavlovsk was the rich chromaticism of individual passages in the work. This stylistic technique can be seen as an echo of Josef Strauss’s interest in the music of Richard Wagner, especially Tristan and Isolde.

At a concert held at the Volksgarten establishment in Vienna on 3 July 1860 Strauss had given the first performance worldwide of extracts from this ‘music drama’, and they continued to be heard frequently in his concerts. The title of his orchestral fantasy evokes the theme that underlies Tristan and Isolde, so that the occasional allusions to its musical language are thus given a deeper meaning. According to the programme notes made by F.A. Zimmerman, a member of the orchestra, Heart’s Sorrow was first heard on Thursday 9 [21 NS] August. After that the work received eight further performances, before it sank into oblivion for more than 150 years.

Synopsis: Dr. Thomas Aigner

Translation: Dr. Leigh H. Bailey

* Austrian first performance on May 15, 2016 in the Wiener Musikverein by the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra.

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Sunday, 08. August 202120.15 o' clock
Television ⁄ ORF III

TV premiere «A musical journey across Austria»

Johannes Wildner conductor

Program
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 *
Johann Strauss II : Vienna Blood / Waltz op. 354
Johann Strauss II : Thunder and Lightning / Quick polka op. 324
Josef Strauss : Allegro fantastique / Orchestral Fantasy*
Johann Strauss II : The Sighs of the Liguorian Monks / Playful polka op. 57
Josef Strauss : Mysterious Powers of Attraction (Dynamiden) / Waltz op. 173
Johann Strauss II : Csárdás from the opera «Knight Pásmán» op. 441
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
Johann Strauss II : Niko-Polka (Quick polka) op. 228
Johann Strauss I : Radetzky March op. 228

ORF III-Premiere
«Eine musikalische Reise durch Österreich»

Erlebnis Bühne mit Barbara Rett

Melodien der Strauss-Dynastie am Originalschauplatz! ORF III zeigt die "Musikalische Reise durch Österreich" des Wiener Johann Strauss Orchesters in einer brandneuen, vollständig bearbeiteten Fassung. Seit seiner Gründung 1966 ist das Orchester eine Institution, wenn es darum geht, die leichte Wiener Muse zu ehren.
Folgen Sie Johannes Wildner und dem Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester, ausgehend vom weltberühmten Goldenen Saal des Musikvereins in Wien, auf eine atemberaubende Reise durch die Alpenrepublik. Mit im Gepäck hat Maestro Wildner die schönsten Melodien der Strauss-Familie.

Dirigat, Violine & Moderation: Johannes Wildner
Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester

Musikverein Wien 2016

Empfangbar über:
- TV (ORF III)
- Stream (https://tvthek.orf.at/live)
- Im Nachhinein 7 Tage (auf https://tvthek.orf.at)

Johannes Wildner
© by Lukas Beck

Johannes Wildner
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