Wiener Frauen or 'Viennese Ladies' op. 423 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 1886.
The waltz was originally titled 'Les dames de St. Peterburgh' when Strauss was invited by the 'Russian Red Cross Society' to conduct in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in that year.
Strauss first performed the piece at the riding school of the Horse Guards Regiment in that city to great acclaim and was thoughtful enough to re-christen the waltz 'Wiener Frauen' in a homage to his Viennese admirers when he had it performed in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
later that year.
The piece was among Strauss's last great waltzes and it brims with youthful vigour yet with hints of pensiveness and poignant moments as was common among his last works. The waltz was also first performed with its lesser-known 'sister work' Adele-Walzer op. 424 in the same hall and was dedicated to the composer's third wife Adele Strauss.
References
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Waltzes by Johann Strauss II
Compositions set in Vienna