- Similarly to Josef Strauss’s Die Tänzerin (“The Ballerina”), Angelica is a polka française written for a concert held at the “New World,” a park festival with music pavilions near Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. However, the latter polka was written five years earlier, in 1862.
- Angelica is one of many pieces by Josef Strauss that has a feminine name or characteristic as its title.1
- The “polka française” is an example of a stylistic variation developed by classical composers. It’s typically slower in tempo and a more reserved representation of merriment.2
- There’s no record of whether the polka was written for a particular “Angelica,” but we do know that the composer was deeply committed to his wife, Caroline.3
Sources
- Prof. Franz Mailer, “‘Angelica Polka’ française, Op. 123,” Josef Strauss: Edition – Vol. 1 performed by the Budapest Strauss Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alfred Walter, Naxos 8.223561, 1992, compact disc.
- “Polka,” Wikipedia (2022), accessed November 10, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka.
- Prof. Franz Mailer, “‘Angelica Polka’ française, Op. 123,” Josef Strauss: Edition – Vol. 1.
Cut IDs
25268