Concert at the Musikverein Vienna

Johann Strauss II
The Blue Danube / Waltz
op. 314 (1867)

What prompted Johann Strauss to choose ‘By the beautiful, blue Danube‘ as the title of his composition? Was it the regulation of the river Danube that was being planned at the time? Or the poems by Karl Beck in which the phrase appears? Had Strauss been planning a waltz with such a title for some time, or did this thought not come to him until he was reminded by the Vienna Men’s Choral Society of the promise he had once made to compose a work dedicated to them?

Be that as it may, The Blue Danube is, apart from a student exercise, Strauss’s first composition for voices. Did he draw on the advice and support of the choirmaster of the Society, Rudolf Weinwurm, when it came to the vocal parts? There is a great deal that we do not know. On the other hand it has been definitively established that the first performance was given on 15 February 1867, with Weinwurm conducting, at an ‘Evening of Songs for Carnival‘ held in the hall of the Dianabad establishment in Vienna, and that, despite later commentaries to the contrary, the waltz received glowing reviews. The orchestral version of The Blue Danube was first heard at the Carnival Review concert at the Volksgarten establishment on 10 March 1867, with the composer conducting in person. The first edition for piano had already been published on the day of the first performance, which was rather unusual practice at that time. The demand for the waltz must have been enormous, because it is more or less impossible to say just how many times it was reprinted by C.A. Spina, the original publisher, within a very short time. Foreign editions, arrangements for all widely played instruments and combinations of them, highly virtuoso paraphrases, and passages from the waltz quoted in the works of other composers and those of Strauss himself: these all bear witness to the enormous popularity of The Blue Danube.

Moreover, Eduard Hanslick, the high priest of critics, attested the work a ‘quite remarkable significance […] the significance of a quotation, of a phrase summing up everything there is in Vienna that is beautiful, lovable and gay. […] Alongside the national anthem composed by Papa Haydn, which celebrates the emperor and the imperial family, we have in Strauss’s Blue Danube a second national anthem which sings of our country and people.’

Synopsis: Dr. Thomas Aigner

Translation: Dr. Leigh H. Bailey

Johann Strauss (Sohn) : An der schönen blauen Donau / Walzer op. 314
© by «Kulturverein Wiener Blut»

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Saturday, 08. March 200319.30 o' clock
Vienna ⁄ Musikverein ⁄ The Große Musikvereinssaal

Concert at the Musikverein Vienna

Martin Sieghart conductor
Walther Schulz solo cello

Program
Johann Strauss II : Overture to the operetta «Waldmeister» (Woodruff)
Josef Strauss : Moulinet Polka / Polka française op. 57
Josef Strauss : Chatterboxes: musical joke / Polka op. 245
Josef Strauss : Village Swallows from Austria / Waltz op. 164
Johann Strauss II : Romanze No. 2 in g-moll for Violoncello & Orchestra op. 255
Johann Strauss II : Thunder and Lightning / Quick polka op. 324
Carl Michael Ziehrer : Viennese Girls / Waltz op. 388
Johann Strauss II : Egyptian March op. 335
Johann Strauss II : The Blue Danube / Waltz op. 314
Encore Johann Strauss I : Radetzky March op. 228

Martin Sieghart
© by Wolfgang Voglhuber VOGUS

Martin Sieghart
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Walther Schulz
© by Walther Schulz

Walther Schulz
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Vienna ⁄ Musikverein ⁄ The Große Musikvereinssaal
Musikvereinsplatz 1
1010 Vienna
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Johann Strauss II The Blue Danube / Waltz op. 314 (1867)

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Johann Strauss II
The Blue Danube / Waltz
op. 314 (1867)