He is portrayed on the title page of the piano score: Titi, the magician and prestidigitator, on a stage set as he draws the public under his spell with his piercing, demonic gaze and prepares or executes a conjuring trick. In the lively polka that Josef Strauss composed in 1856 and which he titled Titi, the demonic is first perceived in the trio, where a motif from the Bacchanalia from Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Robert le diable is quoted. The animated composition, performed for the first time on 4 May 1856 at Unger's Casino, must have become a favourite with the public, as it appeared for the rest of the summer on the programmes of Josef Strauss's successful concerts. The Titi Polka became so well-known among the listening public that it conspired with its charm to lessen the impact of the absence of Johann Strauss, who spent the 1856 concert season in Pavlovsk near St Petersburg. Josef Strauss proved that he could solidly maintain the orchestra's foremost position in Viennese music circles until his brother's return.
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Painting: The Magician
Artist: Alexandre Evariste Fragonard
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Dittrich
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