1899. A century was coming to an end, and with it an entire epoch. This

is what one court official meant when he said that “Emperor Francis Joseph reigned until the death of Johann Strauss.” History, with its cold precision, may accurately record that the reign of Francis Joseph actually terminated in 1916. But its heyday had passed with the 19th century. The spirit of old Vienna, imperial Vienna of the Hapsburgs, the Vienna that had been inspiration for song and story, died with Johann Strauss. After 1900, Vienna was only a shadow of its former self, and was made prostrate by World War I. If the epoch of “old Vienna” died with Johann Strauss, it was also born with him. After 1825, the social and intellectual climate in the imperial city changed perceptibly. The people, always gay, now gave themselves up to frivolity. For this, political conditions had been responsible. The autocratic rule of Francis I brought on tyranny, repression, and an army of spies and informers. As a result, the Viennese went in for diversions that were safe from a political point of view: flirtation, gossip, dancing. They were partial to light musical plays and novels. Thus, an attitude born out of expediency, became, with the passing of time, an inextricable part of everyday life in Vienna. Of the many light-hearted pleasures in which the Viennese indulged none was dearer to them than dancing. It has been recorded that one out of every four in Vienna danced regularly. They danced the polka, and the quadrille; but most of all they danced the waltz. Johann Strauss II was the genius of the Viennese waltz. More than anybody before him or since he lifted the popular dance to such artistic importance that his greatest waltzes are often performed at symphony concerts by the world’s greatest orchestras under the foremost conductors. Inexhaustible was his invention; richly inventive, his harmonic writing; subtle and varied his gift at orchestration; fresh and personal his lyricism; aristocratic his structure. To the noted 20th century German critic, Paul Bekker, the Strauss waltz contained “more melodies than a symphony of Beethoven, and the aggregate of Straussian melodies is surely greater than the aggregate of Beethoven’s.” Actually the waltz form used by Strauss is basically that of Lanner and of Strauss’ own father. A slow symphonic introduction opens the waltz. This is followed by a series of waltz melodies (usually five in number). A symphonic coda serves both as a kind of summation and as a conclusion. But here the similarity with the past ends. This form received from the younger Strauss new dimension, new amplification. His introductions are sometimes like tone poems. The waltz melodies are incomparably rich in thought and feeling, varied in mood and style. A new concept of thematic developments enters waltz writing with Strauss. And his codas, as his introductions, are symphonic creations built with consummate skill from previously stated ideas, or fragments of these ideas. No wonder, then, that the waltzes of Johann Strauss have been described as “symphonies for dancing.” The following are the most popular of the Johann Strauss waltzes: _Acceleration_ (_Accelerationen_), op. 234, as the title indicates, derives its effect from the gradual acceleration in tempo in the main waltz melody. Strauss had promised to write a waltz for a ball at the Sofiensaal but failed to deliver his manuscript even at the zero hour. Reminded of his promise, he sat down at a restaurant table on the night of the ball and hurriedly wrote off the complete _Acceleration Waltz_ on the back of a menu card, and soon thereafter conducted the première performance. _Artist’s Life_ (_Kuenstlerleben_), op. 316, opens in a tender mood. A transition is provided by an alternation of soft and loud passages, after which the first waltz melody erupts zestfully as a tonal expression of the lighthearted gaiety of an artist’s life. A similar mood is projected by the other waltz melodies. _The Blue Danube_ (_An der schoenen blauen Donau_), op. 314, is perhaps the most famous waltz ever written, and one of the greatest. It is now a familiar tale how Brahms, while autographing a fan of Strauss’ wife, scribbled a few bars of this waltz and wrote underneath, “alas, not by Brahms.” Strauss wrote _The Blue Danube_ at the request of John Herbeck, conductor of the Vienna Men’s Singing Society; thus the original version of the waltz is for chorus and orchestra, the text being a poem by Karl Beck in praise of Vienna and the Danube. Strauss wrote this waltz in 1867, and it was introduced on February 15 of the same year at the Dianasaal by Strauss’ orchestra, supplemented by Herbeck’s singing society. The audience was so enthusiastic that it stood on the seats and thundered for numerous repetitions. In the Spring of 1867, Strauss introduced his waltz to Paris at the International Exposition where it was a sensation. A tremendous ovation also greeted it when Strauss performed it for the first time in London, at Covent Garden in 1869. When Johann Strauss made his American debut, in Boston in 1872, he conducted _The Blue Danube_ with an orchestra numbering a thousand instruments and a chorus of a thousand voices! Copies of the music were soon in demand in far-off cities of Asia and Australia. The publisher, Spina, was so deluged by orders he had to have a hundred new copper plates made from which to print over a million copies. It is not difficult to see why this waltz is so popular. It is an eloquent voice of the “charm, elegance, vivacity, and sophistication” of 19th century Vienna—so much so that it is second only to Haydn’s Austrian National Anthem as the musical symbol of Austria. _Emperor Waltz_ (_Kaiserwalz_), op. 437, was written in 1888 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reign of Franz Joseph I. This is one of Strauss’ most beautiful waltzes. A slow introduction spanning seventy-four bars that has delicacy and grace, and is of a stately march-like character, is Viennese to its very marrow. A suggestion of the main waltz tune then appears quickly but is just as quickly dismissed by a loud return of the main introductory subject. Trombones lead to a brief silence. After some preparation, a waltz melody of rare majesty finally unfolds in the strings. If this wonderful waltz melody can be said to represent the Emperor himself then the delightful waltz tunes that follow—some of almost peasant character—can be said to speak for the joy of the Austrian people in honoring their beloved monarch. An elaborate coda then comes as the crown to the whole composition. _Morning Journals_ (_Morgenblaetter_), op. 279, was written for a Viennese press club, the Concordia. Offenbach had previously written for that club a set of waltzes entitled “_Evening Journals_.” Strauss decided to name his music _Morning Journals_. The Offenbach composition is today remembered only because it provided the stimulus for Strauss’ title. But Strauss’ music remains—the four waltzes in his freshest and most infectious lyric vein, and its introduction highlighted by a melody of folk song simplicity. _Roses from the South_ (_Rosen aus dem Sueden_), op. 388, is a potpourri of the best waltz tunes (each a delight) from one of the composer’s lesser operettas, _Spitzentuch der Koenigen_ (_The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief_). The “south” in the title refers to Spain, the background of the operetta, but there is nothing Spanish to this unmistakably Viennese music. _Tales from the Vienna Woods_ (_G’schichten aus dem Wiener Wald_), op. 325—performed for the first time by the Strauss orchestra at the _Neue Welt_ café in 1868—is a bucolic picture of Nature’s beauty in the forests skirting Vienna. The beauty of Nature is suggested in the stately introduction with its open fifths and its serene melody for cello followed by a flute cadenza. All the loveliness of the Vienna woods is then represented by a waltz melody (originally scored for zither, but now most often presented by strings), a loveliness that is carried on with incomparable grace and charm by the ensuing waltz tunes. _Vienna Blood_ (_Wiener Blut_), op. 354, like so many other Strauss waltzes, is a hymn of praise to Strauss’ native cities; but where other waltzes are light and carefree, this one is more often moody, dreamy, and at times sensual. After the introduction come four waltz melodies, the first full of fire and the last one touched with sentimentality. The second and third waltz tunes are interesting for their rhythmic vitality and marked syncopations. _Voices of Spring_ (_Fruehlingstimmen_), op. 410—dedicated to the renowned Viennese pianist, Albert Gruenfeld—is (like the _Tales from the Vienna Woods_) an exuberant picture of the vernal season, the joy and thrill that the rebirth of Nature always provides to the Viennese. _Wine, Woman and Song_ (_Wein, Weib und Gesang_), op. 333, opens with an eloquent mood picture that is virtually an independent composition, even though it offers suggestions of later melodies. This is a spacious ninety-one bar introduction that serves as an eloquent peroration to the four waltz melodies that follow—each graceful, vivacious, and at times tender and contemplative. Richard Wagner, upon hearing Anton Seidl conduct this music, was so moved by it that at one point he seized the baton from Seidl’s hand and conducted the rest of the piece himself. Strauss wrote other dance music besides waltzes. He was equally successful in bringing his wonderful melodic invention, fine rhythmic sense, and beautiful instrumentation to the Polka, the native Bohemian dance in duple quick time and in a lively mood. The best of the Strauss polkas are: _Annen-Polka_, op. 117; _Electrophor Polka_, op. 297 dedicated to the students of a Vienna technical school, its effect derived from its breathless tempo and forceful dynamics; _Explosions Polka_, op. 43, written when Strauss was only twenty-two and characterized by sudden brief crescendos; _Pizzicato Polka_, written in collaboration with the composer’s brother Josef, and, as the name indicates, an exercise in plucked strings; and the capricious _Tritsch-Tratsch_ (or _Chit-Chat_) _Polka_, op. 214. Of Strauss’ other instrumental compositions, the best known is a lively excursion in velocity called _Perpetual Motion_, op. 257, which the composer himself described as a “musical jest.” Beyond being Vienna’s waltz king, Johann Strauss II was also one of its greatest composers of operettas. Indeed, if a vote were to be cast for the greatest favorite among all Vienna operettas the chances are the choice would fall on Strauss’ _Die Fledermaus_ (_The Bat_), first produced in Vienna on April 5, 1874, book by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée based on a French play by Meilhac and Halévy. This work is not only a classic of the light theater, but even a staple in the repertory of the world’s major opera houses. It is a piece of dramatic intrigue filled with clever, bright and at times risqué humor, as well as irony and gaiety. The plot, in line with operetta tradition, involves a love intrigue: between Rosalinda, wife of Baron von Eisenstein, and Alfred. The Baron is sought by the police for some slight indiscretion, and when they come to the Baron’s home and find Alfred there, they mistake him for the Baron and arrest him. Upon discovering he is supposed to be in jail, the Baron decides to take full advantage of his liberty by attending a masked ball at Prince Orlovsky’s palace and making advances there to the lovely women. But one of the masked women with whom he flirts is his own wife. Eventually, the identity of both is uncovered, to the embarrassment of the Baron, and this merry escapade ends when the Baron is compelled to spend his time in jail. The overture is a classic, recreating the effervescent mood that prevails throughout the operetta. It is made up of some of the principal melodies of the opera: Rosalinda’s lament, “_So muss allein ich bleiben_” first heard in the woodwind; the chorus, “_O je, o je, wie ruhrt mich dies_” in the strings; and most important of all, the main waltz of the operetta and the climax of the second act, also in the strings. Other delightful episodes frequently presented in instrumental versions include the lovely drinking song, “_Trinke, Liebchen, trinke schnell_”; the laughing song of the maid, Adele, “_Mein Herr Marquis_”; the blood-warming czardas of the “Hungarian countess” who is actually Rosalinda in disguise, “_Klaenge der Heimat_”; the stirring hymn to champagne, “_Die Majistaet wird anerkannt_”; and the buoyant waltz, “_Du und du_.” _The Gypsy Baron_ (_Die Ziguenerbaron_) is almost as popular as _Die Fledermaus_. This is an operetta with libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer, introduced in Vienna on October 24, 1885. Sandór Barinkay returns to his ancestral home after having left it as a child. He finds it swarming with gypsies who have made it their home, and he falls in love with one of them, Saffi. The overture is made up of material from the concerted finales, beginning with the entrance of the gypsies in the first finale; continuing with Saffi’s celebrated gypsy air, “_So elend und treu_”; and culminating with the celebrated waltz music of the second act, the _Schatz_, or _Treasure_, waltzes. Other familiar excerpts include Sandór’s exuberant aria with chorus from the first act “_Ja, das alles auf Ehr_,” probably the most celebrated vocal excerpt from the entire operetta; and the _Entry March_ (_Einzugmarsch_) from the third act—for chorus and orchestra in the operetta, but often given by salon ensembles in an orchestral version. Josef Strauss Josef Strauss, like Eduard, is a younger brother of Johann Strauss II, and son of Johann Strauss I. He was born in Vienna on August 22, 1827. He was an extremely talented young man not only in music but even as architect and inventor. Of more serious and sober disposition than either of his two brothers, he long regarded café-house music condescendingly, his musical preference being for the classics. His famous brother, Johann Strauss II, needing someone to help him direct his orchestra, finally prevailed on Josef to turn to café-house music. Josef made his debut as café-house conductor and composer simultaneously on July 23, 1853, his first waltz being _Die Ersten_. After that he often substituted for brother Johann in directing the latter’s orchestra in Vienna and on extended tours of Europe and Russia. Josef died in Vienna on July 21, 1870. Josef Strauss wrote almost three hundred dance compositions. Though certainly less inspired than his brother, Johann, he was also far more important than Eduard. Josef’s best waltzes have much of the lyrical invention, and the harmonic and instrumental invention of those by Johann Strauss II. Perhaps his greatest waltz is the _Dorfschwalben aus Oesterreich_ (_Swallows from Austria_), op. 164, a nature portrait often interrupted by the chirping of birds. Here Josef’s outpouring of the most sensitive lyricism and delicate moods is hardly less wondrous than that of Johann Strauss II. H. E. Jacob went so far as to say that “since Schubert’s death there has been no such melody. It is in the realm of the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux. It breathes the sweet blue from which the swallows come.” Another Josef Strauss classic in three-quarter time is _Sphaerenklaenge_ (_Music of the Spheres_), op. 285, equally remarkable for its spontaneous flow of unforgettable waltz tunes. Among Strauss’ other delightful waltzes are the _Aquarellen_, op. 258; _Delirien_, op. 212; _Dynamiden_, op. 173; _Marienklaenge_, op. 214. A theme from _Dynamiden_ waltzes was used by Richard Strauss in his famous opera _Der Rosenkavalier_. In collaboration with his brother, Johann, Josef wrote the famous _Pizzicato Polka_ and several other pieces including the _Monstrequadrille_ and _Vaterlandischer March_. With Johann and Eduard he wrote the _Schuetzenquadrille_ and the _Trifolienwalzer_. Sir Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan—musical half of the comic-opera team of Gilbert and Sullivan—was born in London, England, on May 13, 1842. The son of a bandmaster, Sullivan was appointed to the Chapel Royal School in 1854. One year after that his first published composition appeared, an anthem. In 1856 he was the first recipient of the recently instituted Mendelssohn Award which entitled him to attend the Royal Academy of Music where he studied under Sterndale Bennett and Goss. From 1858 to 1861 he attended the Leipzig Conservatory. After returning to London in 1862, he achieved recognition as a serious composer with several ambitious compositions including the _Irish Symphony_, a cello concerto, a cantata, and an oratorio. Meanwhile, in 1866, he had become professor of composition at the Royal Academy, and in 1867 he completed his first score in a light style, the comic opera _Cox and Box_, libretto by F. C. Burnand, which enjoyed a successful engagement in London. In 1871, a singer introduced Sullivan to W. S. Gilbert, a one-time attorney who had attracted some interest in London as the writer of burlesques. An enterprising impresario, John Hollingshead of the Gaiety Theater, then was responsible for getting Gilbert and Sullivan to work on their first operetta. This was _Thespis_, produced in London in 1871, and a failure. It was several years before librettist and composer worked together again. When they did it was for a new impresario, Richard D’Oyly Carte, for whom they wrote a one-act comic opera, _Trial by Jury_, a curtain raiser to a French operetta which Carte was producing in London on March 25, 1875. _Trial by Jury_—a stinging satire on court trials revolving around a breach of promise suit—inaugurates the epoch of Gilbert and Sullivan. D’Oyly Carte now commissioned Gilbert and Sullivan to create a new full length comic opera for a company he had recently formed. The new light opera company made a successful bow with _The Sorcerer_, on November 17, 1877. _Pinafore_, a year later on May 25, 1878, made Gilbert and Sullivan a vogue and a passion both in London and in New York. In 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan came to the United States where on December 31 they introduced a new comic opera, _The Pirates of Penzance_, that took the country by storm. Upon returning to London, Gilbert and Sullivan opened a new theater built for them by D’Oyly Carte—the Savoy—with _Patience_, a tumultuous success on April 25, 1881. After that came _Iolanthe_ (1882), _Princess Ida_ (1884), _The Mikado_ (1885), the _Yeomen of the Guard_ (1888) and _The Gondoliers_ (1889). Gilbert and Sullivan came to the parting of the ways in 1890, the final rift precipitated by a silly argument over the cost of a carpet for the Savoy Theater. But the differences between them had long been deep rooted. An attempt to revive the partnership was made in 1893 with _Utopia Limited_, and again with _The Grand Duke_ in 1896. Both comic operas were failures. After 1893, Sullivan wrote a grand opera, _Ivanhoe_, and several operetta scores to librettists other than Sullivan. None of these were successful. During the last years of his life he suffered from deterioration of his health, and was almost always in acute pain. He died in London on November 22, 1900. Gilbert died eleven years after that. Of Sullivan’s other achievements in the field of music mention must be made of his importance as a conductor of the concerts of the London Philharmonic from 1885 to 1887, and of the Leeds Festival from 1880 to