Johann Strauss II -"Tales from the Vienna Woods", Op. 325

Johann Strauss II's love for Viennese life is evident in this waltz he wrote in 1868. He had just returned from his triumphant visit to Paris and this waltz is an anthem of life in his city. The people of the city used to escape to the "heuringen" or country taverns, to drink and taste the fresh air. The atmosphere of these merry excursions is expressed in the lively melody in the "Tales from the Vienna Woods".

It is one of Strauss's most figurative waltzes and one of his most popular. The themes are performed in such a way as to submit the sounds of the Viennese countryside and the fun of the villagers.

After a long introduction with melancholy hunting horns, vigorous melodies are interwoven with bird chirping, folk dances and a little memorable melody on the zither, which presents an old Austrian dance called "Ländler". The zither was the most common musical instrument of peasants and folk musicians in Strauss's time. Strauss, in this waltz invokes an instantly recognizable sound that was heard for several generations in the country taverns outside the city. After announcing the rhythm of the waltz, the strings glide sweetly and gently to the main melody.

Soon the music takes its pace. Various melodies are introduced and repeated. Often some part of the orchestra takes over emphatically, creating a wonderful combination.The coda returns to the theme of the waltz, which is once again played by the zither and as the music dives to its final scale, one last roll of drums ends in a fioritura.

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Johann Strauss II - Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214 in A major

Johann Strauss II composed "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka" in 1858 after a successful tour of Russia where he performed in the summer concert season at Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg. It was first performed in a concert in Vienna on 24 November 1858. The German word "trarch" means gossip, while the word "tritsch" has no meaning. The title is a sample of Johann Strauss II's habit of creating puns. In this case he wanted to imitate sonically the English expression "chit-chat" (drizzle, gossip). The music is lively and Strauss hypothesized that many dancers could wait while chatting until a waltz is played. The composer wrote in his diary that at the time he was conducting a series of concerts in London, the audience asked for this polka 38 times! It is a lively, rhythmic work, in A major, which uses brilliant brass and percussion instruments and is widely decorated with trills and a multitude of musical ornaments. Interpretively it is a demanding work, ...

Robert Schumann - "Träumerei" or "Dreaming" (from the album Kinderszenen or "Scenes from Childhood"), Op. 15, No. 7

'The Woodman's Child' painting of Arthur Hughes, expresses wonderfully the dreamy quality of "Dreaming" from Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood". For Robert Schumann , music was almost always a personal expression of contemplation, feelings and poetic contemplation and that is exactly what makes him one of the most important romantic composers. The piano was Schumann's first love and his compositions for this instrument are among the most resistant through the passage of time. Schumann composed "Scenes from Childhood" album, the best-known of all his pianistic circles, in 1838. It consists of 13 "peculiarly small works", as described by the composer, each with its own title, which expresses a specific childhood memory. These works are all simple and charming, but Dreaming ( Träumerei) is the most popular and best known of all. It is often included in musical collections for solo piano and often the virtuoso performers includ...

Johann Straus II - Vergnügungszug (Pleasure Train), op. 281

Johann Strauss II , celebrated for his waltzes and lively dance music, followed a distinctive creative approach. He consistently sought contemporary and recognizable themes as the inspiration for his compositions, ensuring that his music remained fresh and closely connected to the everyday experiences of his audiences. A characteristic example of this approach can be found in Vergnügungszug (Pleasure Train), a fast polka ( Polka schnell ) composed in 1864. The work was written for one of the famous summer concerts Strauss conducted in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, where he spent several seasons presenting new compositions. For this particular piece, Strauss drew inspiration from a symbol of modern progress at the time: the steam locomotive. The composition vividly captures the energy and motion of a train in full operation. Its driving rhythm evokes the steady chugging of a steam engine, while short, repeated figures suggest the mechanical movement of the wheels along the tracks. Str...

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