Johann Strauss II - Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz), Op. 437

Strauss often played in the glittering Imperial balls, conducting the orchestra and playing the first violin at the same time.   The majestic launch of this fascinating waltz presents the backdrop of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the hegemony of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in 1888. Johann Strauss II was Music Director of the Dance Hesperides of the Imperial Court from 1863 to 1872 and composed on occasion for the celebration of an imperial anniversary. The ingenuity of the melody of the Emperor Waltz, which was originally orchestrated for a full orchestra, is such that it was easily adapted for the four or five instruments of a chamber ensemble by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in 1925. This waltz is a tender and somewhat melancholic work, which at times turns its gaze nostalgically to the old Vienna. The waltz praises the majesty and dignity of the old monarch, who was fully devoted to his people. It begins with a majestic, magnificent march, which soon re

Carl Maria von Weber - Introduction


Carl Maria von Weber is, of course, entitled to a more successful and fairer characterization, than the one who wants him to be the "composer who heralded Wagner". Perhaps the work he signed is not as rich and voluminous as the composer's contemporaries, but his work is important enough to give us the right to join the great musicians of the first period of Romanticism.

He was undoubtedly the first national German composer, since he first, extracted the music of the earth that saw him born, from Italian rule.

He creatively exploited the traditional musical richness of his homeland, often integrating into the compositions of folk melodies and rhythms.

The fantastic element, which is easily and generously familiar with his music, is certainly a bold innovation. Its originality, however, is not limited to this thematic enrichment. He was also innovative in matters of musical substance. If we consider that he first applied the "light motif" and technique of an opera's musical synopsis in its introduction, then we will realize how much he has benefited Wagner, Rossini, Verdi.

His works feature brilliant orchestration that accentuates the descriptive power of music, intense emotional charge and charming combinations of melodic ideas. Its unique "error" can be considered the... coexistence with Beethoven and Schubert.


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