Die Tänzerin (The Ballerina)

Composer: STRAUSS, Josef
  • Josef Strauss’s polka française, Die Tänzerin (“The Ballerina”), was written in the summer of 1867 for the “New World,” a park festival with music pavilions near Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.1
    • While Bohemian in origin, polkas became a popular dance genre for classical composers in Vienna, particularly among the Strauss family. 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
  • While initially popular, Die Tänzerin would quickly fade into obscurity among the Strauss family’s orchestral repertoire.3

Sources

  1. Silvia Kargl and Friedemann Pestel, Notes in accompanying booklet, 2019 New Year’s Concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Christian Thielemann, Sony 590289, 2019, compact disc.
  2. “Polka,” Wikipedia (2022), accessed November 10, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka.
  3. Silvia Kargl and Friedemann Pestel, Notes in accompanying booklet, 2019 New Year’s Concert.

Cut IDs

23271