Josef Mayburger Blick auf Schloss Orth am Traunsee 1863

'' Die Libelle ''(''The Dragonfly'') Op. 204 is a

polka-mazurka The polka-mazurka is a dance, musically similar to the mazurka, but danced much like the polka. Many polka-mazurkas were composed by Johann Strauss II and his family. Johann Strauss I did not compose any of this type of music; the first polka-mazurk ...

composed by

Josef Strauss Josef Strauss (20 August 1827 – 22 July 1870) was an Austrian composer. He was born in Mariahilf (now Vienna), the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim, and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to ch ...

in 1866.

Background

Josef Strauss and his wife Caroline visited

Traunstein Traunstein (Central Bavarian: ''Traunstoa'') is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a much larger district of the same name. The town serves as a local government, retail, health services, ...

and lake

Traunsee Traunsee () is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km2 and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only Lake ...

in 1866. At that time, Josef saw

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

flying on the water surface. Inspired by this experience, he composed the Polka-mazurka '' Die Libelle''. This work was premiered on 21 October 1866, immediately after the Austro-Prussian War, when the Austrian mood was still gloomy following its defeat.

Brahms's recording

''Die Libelle'' was recorded by Johannes Brahms, together with his own Hungarian Dance no. 1 in 1889. The recording was severely damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

External links

Josef Strauss Die Libelle / Polka mazurka op. 204 (1866)
– Commentary by

Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester (Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. The orchestra was formed under the auspices of Professor Oskar Goger and the ORF (Austrian Radio) in 1966. Eduard Strauss II, nephew of ...

（WJSO） {{DEFAULTSORT:Libelle, Die Compositions by Josef Strauss Polkas 1866 compositions Fiction about insects