''Rathausball-Tänze'' op. 438 is a waltz by composer

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 ...

written in 1890 in honour of the inauguration of the new city hall of Vienna (the 'Rathaus'). At the opening of the new banqueting hall (Festsaal) on 12 February 1890 two rival orchestras were commissioned to provide dance music for the occasion; the Strauss Orchestra under the direction of Eduard Strauss, and that of rival Kapellmeister

Karl Michael Ziehrer Carl Michael Ziehrer (more rarely spelled Karl Michael Ziehrer) (2 May 1843 – 14 November 1922) In the 8th edition the article title changed without comment to Ziehrer, Carl Michael. was an Austrian composer. In his lifetime, he was one of the ...

who was head of the Vienna House Regiment 'Hoch und Deutschmeister No. 4'. The waltz incorporates many snatches of '' The Blue Danube'' waltz op. 314; much of the

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 based on Haydn's Austrian hymn Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser. As a consequence the coda is one of the first in a Strauss not to recall themes from earlier sections. Ziehrer's waltz, the ''

Wiener Bürger This is a list of the dances and marches written by the Austrian composer Karl Michael Ziehrer (1843–1922). They are arranged in opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to ...

'' waltz op. 419 remained the more popular of the two works presented. This marked the first of the many occasions where after

's death, his brother Eduard Strauss often found himself at rivalry with Ziehrer. Johann Strauss was evidently bitter at his 'musical defeat'. In a letter to his publisher of the waltz, Fritz Simrock, in 1892 he pointed out an error in the score which he claimed 'spoiled the entire melody' and that the publisher had 'effectively mutilated him' before amusingly adding 'After that, am I supposed to say 'with best wishes'? Yes, I'll say it anyway!'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathausball-Tanze Compositions set in Vienna Waltzes by Johann Strauss II