This charming polka belongs to the numerous compositions from the summer of 1858. It was played for the first time at a festivity held on 22nd June 1858 in the Volksgarten, attended by a huge audience. This performance was also offered to Viennese music lovers at approximately the same time, when Josef presented extracts from "The Flying Dutchman" and "Lohengrin", operas by Richard Wagner hitherto unknown in the Austrian territories. Unfortunately, these interesting transcriptions, approved by Wagner during his stay in Vienna, have vanished. The Vienna Municipal and National Library, however, possesses a copy, which served publisher Carl Haslinger as a draft for the edition of the work released on 19th September 1858. On 23rd September the Theater Zeitung trade paper announced the appearance of the Polka Mazurka Flora, noting that it enjoyed great popularity. It is unlikely that the Flora mentioned in the titled was a woman. The title page of the piano score does not depict a female, but an arrengement of blades of grass and flowers.
Don't forget to subscribe and leave a comment, that would be helpful to improve my channel. Thank you!
Painting: Blühender Mohn
Artist: Olga Wisinger-Florian
Date: 1895
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Michael Dittrich
Comentarios