"Wood Roses". In the summer of 1858, Josef Strauss added the polka-mazurka Waldröslein to the series of compositions which he named after flowers. This lovely work, the first part of which is dominated by the defined rhythm of a mazurka, whilst the trio is pervaded by that of a country waltz, was performed for the first time in the Volksgarten on 25 September 1858. Unfortunately, there is no useful, contemporary assessment of this work, which would have proved a valuable tool in measuring the initial reception of the same. The reports upon the appearance of the printed score in January 1859, where the polka-mazurka was referred to as “piquant” in the Theaterzeitung and as “brilliant” in Der Zwischenakt, were merely routine. Dozens of novelties were described with these and similar words in both of these newspapers. But the Waldröslein polka-mazurka gave pleasure to music lovers for many years: it appeared again and again on the Strauss orchestra’s programmes.
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Painting: Nootka Roses
Artist: Ursula E. Rettich
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
John Georgiadis
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