''Karnevalsbotschafter'' (Carnival's Ambassador) op. 270 is a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

composed by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

in the autumn of 1862 during his honeymoon with his first wife

Henrietta Treffz Henrietta "Jetty" Treffz (; ; 1 July 1818, in Alsergrund – 8 April 1878, in Hietzing) was best known as the first wife of Johann Strauss II and a well-known mezzo-soprano appearing in England in 1849 to great acclaim. Biography Henri ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. It was first performed at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Vienna's Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) at the 'Sperl' dance hall on 11 November 1862. Trumpets announce the first bars, before a loud chord interrupts; signalling the waltz proper.

Pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument : * On bowed ...

strings support the first waltz theme although other instruments carry the main melody. Waltz 1B is punctuated by loud chords and is loud for the entire passage. Waltz 2A has

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

s as accompaniment whereas waltz 2B is gentle. Waltz 3A starts with a brief intrada and is decorated with

trill TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is an Internet Standard implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and is the application of link-state routing to the VLAN-aware custom ...

s whereas waltz 3B's principal melody is carried by

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

es. Waltz 4A is livelier than the previous waltz part and waltz 4B is dominated by the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

. Waltz 5B has a

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

beat and waltz 5B reconciles the earlier sections. A brief

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

is introduced and waltz 1B is repeated. Without halting nor slowing down for a moment, the first waltz theme makes a re-entry, before rising chords heralds its close, complete with a snare-drumroll and brass flourish.

References

{{Authority control Waltzes by Johann Strauss II 1862 compositions