Johann Baptist Strauss II (1825 – 1899), also known
as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (German:
Johann Strauß Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light
music, particularly dance music and operettas as well
as a violinist. 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 cen...(+)
Johann Baptist Strauss II (1825 – 1899), also known
as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (German:
Johann Strauß Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light
music, particularly dance music and operettas as well
as a violinist. 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. Some of Johann Strauss's most famous
works include "The Blue Danube", "Kaiser-Walzer"
(Emperor Waltz), "Tales from the Vienna Woods",
"Frühlingsstimmen", and the "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka".
Among his operettas, Die Fledermaus and Der
Zigeunerbaron are the best known. He was the son of
Johann Strauss I and his first wife Maria Anna Streim.
Two younger brothers, Josef and Eduard Strauss, also
became composers of light music, although they were
never as well known as their brother.
Johann Strauss I's influence over the local
entertainment establishments meant that many of them
were wary of offering the younger Strauss a contract
for fear of angering the father. Strauss Jr. was able
to persuade Dommayer's Casino in Hietzing, a suburb of
Vienna, to allow him to perform. The elder Strauss, in
anger at his son's disobedience, and at that of the
proprietor, refused to ever play again at Dommayer's
Casino,[10] which had been the site of many of his
earlier triumphs. Strauss made his debut at Dommayer's
in October 1844, where he performed some of his first
works, such as the waltzes "Sinngedichte", Op. 1 and
"Gunstwerber", Op. 4 and the polka "Herzenslust", Op.
3. Critics and the press were unanimous in their praise
of Strauss's music. A critic for Der Wanderer commented
that "Strauss's name will be worthily continued in his
son; children and children's children can look forward
to the future, and three-quarter time will find a
strong footing in him."
"Radetzky March" (Op. 228), is a march composed by
Johann Strauss Sr. and dedicated to Field Marshal
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. First performed on 31
August 1848 in Vienna, it soon became popular among
regimented marching soldiers. It has been noted that
its tone is more celebratory than martial; Strauss was
commissioned to write the piece to commemorate
Radetzky's victory at the Battle of Custoza. Strauss
had already used the theme in his Jubel-Quadrille, Op.
130; the upbeat bears a considerable resemblance to the
second theme from the Allegro in Joseph Haydn's
Symphony No. 100 composed in 1794. The rhythmic
pattern—three anapaests, one iamb—has since then
been popularised by numerous parody versions.
For the trio, Strauss used an older folk melody called
Alter Tanz aus Wien or Tinerl-Lied (Tinerl was a
contemporary Viennese songstress) which was originally
in 3/4 time. When Radetzky came back to Vienna after
winning the battle of Custoza (1848), his soldiers were
singing the then-popular song. Allegedly Strauss heard
this singing and incorporated the melody, converted to
2/4 time, into the Radetzky March. Along with the Blue
Danube waltz by Johann Strauss Jr., the piece became an
unofficial Austrian national anthem. In 1932 Joseph
Roth published his novel Radetzky March, chronicling
the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Today, the theme is used in numerous promotional
jingles and at major sporting events, in particular at
football matches of the Austrian national team. Since
1896, the Radetzky has been the official presentation
march of the Chilean Army's Military School of the
Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins and the Paraguayan Army's
Marshall Francisco Solano López Military Academy. The
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards of the United Kingdom
adopted the Radetzky March as its regimental quick
march.
When it was first played in front of Austrian officers,
they spontaneously clapped and stamped their feet when
they heard the chorus. This tradition, with quiet
rhythmic clapping on the first iteration of the melody,
followed by thunderous clapping on the second, is often
observed when the march is played in classical music
venues in an orchestral version prepared by Leopold
Weninger (1879–1940).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radetzky_March)
Although originally composed for Orchestra, I created
this Interpretation of "Radetzky March" (Op. 228) for
Flute & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC