Wiener Carneval (''Viennese Carnival''), opus 3, 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 I Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galo ...

in 1828. The waltz was intended as a contribution to the carnival of 1828 Johann Strauss appeared as leader of a group of musicians at the balls at the Kettenbrücke in

Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; bar, Leopoidstod, "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna (german: 2. Bezirk) in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th distr ...

. The fourth waltz theme incorporates melodies from

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

's Ocean

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

from

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

, with Rezia’s words ''Mein Hüon, mein Gatte, die Retter, sie nah’n'' (''My Hüon, my husband, the rescuers approach''), partly as a tribute to Weber, who had died not long before Strauss' waltz was composed.

References

Compositions by Johann Strauss I {{classical-composition-stub