Vienna, the waltz and the Strauss family are inseparable entities. The waltzes of Johann Strauss, Sr. (1804 - 49) evoked the air of the Viennese countryside, beer gardens and Heurigen. Those of his eldest son, Johann, Jr., at first had the same rhythmic vitality and brief melodies. After 1860, however, this would change. The younger Strauss infused the traditional waltz format and sound with a new vitality and sophistication that reflected the glittery, hedonistic spirit of nineteenth-century imperial Vienna. He melded the rhythmic drive of his father's works with Joseph Lanner's (1801-43) lyricism, and changed the rhythmic emphasis from the beat to the measure. Strauss' seemingly unlimited melodic invention prompted him to compose melodies that did not fall into the traditional four, eight, or sixteen-measure patterns of earlier waltz tunes. He maintained the basic outline employed by Lanner and his father: a slow introduction, (typically) five pairs of waltzes and a coda, but increased the length of each section and the organic unity of the whole. Strauss' orchestration is often picturesque, especially in his introductions, while that of the waltzes themselves approaches a Mozartean clarity.

Like Morgenbl?tter, Op. 279, and Wiener Blut, Op. 307, "K?nstlerleben" (Artist's Life), Op. 316, was conceived with a world-wide public in mind. Strauss' expansion of the waltz continues in this work as he creates links between sections and employs harmonies only distantly related to the tonic.

Please note that this arrangement is not played back accurately due to the way the D.S. signs are not performed. This arrangement comes with a supplemental third violin part, and an optional bass part for use with string orchestra.