For his honeymoon with his second wife Angelika (Lili to those who knew her well) in the summer of 1878, Johann Strauss chose Wyk, a small seaside resort on the south coast of the North Frisian island of Föhr in Germany. The newly married couple must have liked the place, because they also spent their summer holidays there in the following year. During these summer stays Strauss found the time and the inspiration to record his many different impressions in landscapes and caricatures which he drew himself. Moreover, the new surroundings in which he found himself inspired him to compose a concert waltz which can almost be described as programme music: it was published under the title Nordseebilder. It is above all in the long introduction and the coda that the evocation of the Nordic atmosphere can be heard. They are characterized by symphonic features and tone painting, and are certainly comparable with the symphonic poems of a Franz Liszt or a Richard Strauss. A shortened version of the coda for performance as a dance was included in the edition of orchestral parts, as symphonic music is not suitable for dancing to. The highly imaginative illustration on the title page of the piano edition published in Hamburg by August Cranz shows a decidedly picturesque scene far from the reality of Föhr: sailors and local people are dancing on the seashore in a merry mood to the music of a fiddler and a bagpiper. The pale light from an enormous lighthouse illuminates the rather gloomy scene. Dark clouds hang over a bay surrounded by rugged mountains. A boat with its sails blown full by the wind and a paddle steamer ploughing the waves in the distance round off the visual impression. The first performance of the waltz Nordseebilder was given by Johann’s brother Eduard at his concert in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna on 12 November 1879. The Strauss Orchestra played, with Eduard conducting.
Monday, 02. February 202620.00 o' clock Munich / Herkulessaal
Concert in Munich
Johannes Wildner conductor
Program Johann Strauss II : Ouverture to «Die Fledermaus» Eduard Strauss I : Unter der Enns / Polka schnell op. 121 Johann Strauss II : North Sea Pictures / Waltz op. 390 Josef Strauss : The Dragonfly / Polka mazurka op. 204 Johann Strauss II : An der Elbe / Waltz op. 477 Johann Strauss II : From the Banks of the Danube / Quick polka op. 356 Johann Strauss II : Vienna Blood / Waltz op. 354 Break Johann Strauss II : Overture to «A Night in Venice» Johann Strauss II : Light of Heart / Quick polka op. 319 Josef Strauss : Watercolours / Waltz op. 258 Josef Strauss : Moulinet Polka / Polka française op. 57 Johann Strauss II : Orpheus Quadrille op. 236 Johann Strauss II : Cuckoo Polka / Polka française op. 336 Johann Strauss II : The Blue Danube / Waltz op. 314
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