"Carriage Horse". For the Viennese, "Jucker" are fast, spirited carriage-horses. Cabbies in particular were proud to be able to hitch animals to their bridles. These carriage-horses were also entered in races and, eventually, the usual perception of them as work-horses gave way to their being viewed as racehorses. Josef Strauss may well have been thinking of the carriage-horses that brought guests to Unger's Casino on 25th August 1856, the site once again of a concert and ball celebrating the Hernals Church Fair. This time "Pepi", at the head of his orchestra, was in charge of the music for the ball. He promised the guests his entire repertoire of new compositions, including the waltz "Die guten alten Zeiten" op. 25, and his "Jucker Polka" op. 27, which he would be performing for the first time. On 28th August 1856 the Theaterzeitung reported: "The guests did not tire of twirling to the seductive tunes of Josef's newest inspiration. We do not know how many times Strauss had to play this polka over and over agagain that evening; more than a dozens times, that is certain". When one considers that in the summer of 1856 josef had to fend off competition from music directors Josef Gung'l and Albert Keler (Keler Bela), who had travelled to Vienna, the praise for this little quick polka carried much weight. The work ranks among the most cheerful by the 29-year old "pepi".
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Painting: Scène sur les champs-elysées
Artist: Jean Béraud
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Mika Eichenholz
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