Traumbild I, symphonic poem - Johann Strauss II

Towards the end of his life, Johann Strauss permitted himself the luxury of writing music for his own pleasure, rather than out of financial necessity. He said as much in a letter written in April 1896 to his brother Eduard: "The way I spend the time now is very comical. I started an orchestral piece which lies between seriousness and humour, without tying myself to any particular form, even though each theme has been introduced in accordance with form. From seriousness to jollity is a great leap, accordingly it has to be left just to free imagination how the leaps occur. The first of these musical oddities is more passionate, the second (I have sufficient time to write such stuff) is a portrait of Adèle. You see, that without a publisher, I can now act and do as I please, and I am also able to enjoy myself, which was formerly denied me. For the musical portrait of my wife which I have created, I don't get 5 florins. One must be free from restraint, which I never was, to hit upon the idea of portraying the family in music. Your turn will also come; nobody is immune from cruelty. Imagine the portraits of [my sisters] Netti and Therese! The latter portraits are certainly no small task for the musician! Plenty of hair, and then it'll be fine!".
On another occasion, Johann asked Eduard to play through the sketches of Traumbilder at a rehearsal in order to check the sound of the orchestra and to correct any mistakes. He wanted to publish the works himself: however, this did not happen. Left unpublished at the time of his death in June 1899, the two-part orchestral composition about which Johann enthused to Eduard bore the title Traumbilder (Dream Pictures). Quite unlike anything else he wrote, it shows the 'Waltz King' as a passionate, yet melancholic figure, and begs the question of what he might have achieved musically had he not been shackled to the commercial constraints of writing popular dance music.
On 8 December 1899, six months after Johann's death, Josef Weinberger's publishing house placed the following announcement in the Viennese newspapers: "! Novelty ! Sensational musical Christmas present. The posthumous work 'Traumbilder', by Johann Strauss, was just been published. Two fantasy pieces for piano solo". This edition has survived. Interestingly, however, the pieces were placed in the wrong order by the publisher and, whereas the composer had termed Traumbild I as the "more passionate", now Traumbild II was so described. Regrettably, it was only for "Traumbild I" that Weinberger published orchestral material, and it is this work which, according to Strauss's letter, is to be taken as a "portrait of his wife Adèle", Moreover, the title page of Strauss's autograph score bears his inscription (in translation): Dream Pictures. Dedicated to my most dearly beloved wife Adèle".
Shortly after midday on Sunday 21 January 1900, the prestigious Gesellscllaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna) hosted their "Second Extraordinary Society Concert" in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. Given "In Memory of Johann Strauss", the event was conducted by the concert director Richard von Perger, and two musical premières were announced for the third item on the programme: the prelude to Act 3 of Johann Strauss's ballet Aschenbrödel (Cinderella) and, before that, "Traumbild". From the report of the concert which appeared in the Fremden-Blatt on 22 January 1900, we may be sure that it was Traumbild I which was played on this occasion: "The orchestra presented two interesting pieces from the maestro's estate; an 'Entre'act' from the ballet 'Aschenbrödel', whose homely waltz tune was exceptionally pleasing and had to be repeated, and an elegiac tone picture 'Traumbild' which, if it had been less spun out would been equally successful on the basis of its charming sound", To be sure, only Traumbild I can be described as an "elegiac tone picture" - the moving and emotional "Portrait of Adèle". Later in the afternoon of that same Sunday, 21 January 1900, Eduard Strauss appeared with the Strauss Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein for one of their regular series of Sunday afternoon concerts. By coincidence, the first half of the programme also featured a fantasy piece entitled Traumbilder. This was not, however, his brother's work but one of a handful of works in the orchestra's repertoire written by the popular Danish light music composer / conductor, Hans Christian Lumbye (1810-74). Of further interest regarding this particular concert by the Strauss Orchestra is a programme sheet, now in the collection of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.

Видео Traumbild I, symphonic poem - Johann Strauss II канала neuIlaryRheinKlange