Waldbleamel'n, Ländler im Walzerstyle, Op. 79 - Josef Strauss

"Forest Flowers". The series of waltzes in the Ländler style started by the elder Johann Strauss for the yearly church festival held in Franz Unger's casino were continued by Josef Strauss in the summer of 1859. However, the young conductor chose a variation on this tradition. Pepi had decided to compose a series of Ländler, which he grouped as waltzes. He called "Waldbleamel'n" to his contribution to the 1859 Hernals church festival, thereby presenting a counterpart to his father's waltz in the ländler style "Feldbleamln" op. 231, from the summer of 1847, performed on 30th August of that year for the same event. The premiere of the Ländler "Waldbleamel'n" on 29th August 1859 in Unger's casino was a great success. The Zwischen Akt trade paper reported: "The Waldbleamel'n are quite powerful melodies, which not only bring joy to those who like to dance, but also to those who do not". Josef very aptly chose the traditional form of a waltz for this work, divided into an introduction, five ländler and a perfectly structed coda. This makes the composition differ from the "Styrian Dances" op. 165 by Josef Lanner, and also from the "New Styrian Dances" op. 60 by his brother Johann. The taut construction magnifies the effect of the Waldbleamel'n-Ländler by Josef Strauss. They are closely linked to the folk-music of the region surrounding the imperial city of Vienna.

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Painting by Linda Calvert Jacobson

Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Michael Dittrich