Johann Strauss : Glücklich Ist , Wer Vergisst ! Polka-mazurka, Op. 368 from Die Fledermaus

Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! Polka-Mazurka (Happy is he who forgets! Polka-mazurka) op. 368
The polka-mazurka Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! belongs to that series of orchestral numbers crafted by Johann Strauss from melodies culled from his greatest stage success, Die Fledermaus, which received its première at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 5 April 1874.

Alongside his work on composing Die Fledermaus, Johann had begun preparations in 1873 for a strenuous concert tour of Italy with the renowned German orchestra of Julius Langenbach, with which Johann had first become acquainted in Baden-Baden in 1871 and which he had conducted during the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition. The Strauss Orchestra, under Eduard Strauss's direction, was already committed to performances In Vienna and was thus unavailable for the tour scheduled for May 1874. So preoccupied was Johann with finalising details for the Italian tour that he left himself little time for composing the customary dance pieces from themes in his latest operetta. The Fledermaus-Polka (op. 362), the Fledermaus-Quadrille (op. 363) and the Csaádás were published soon after the première of the operetta, but the remaining numbers -- the Tik-Tak, Polka schnell (op. 365), An der Moldau, Polka française (op. 366), Du und Du, Walzer (op. 367) and Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! Polka-Mazurka (op. 368) -- only appeared much later. In view of the huge success of Die Fledermaus, it is surprising that Johann Strauss took almost no personal interest in introducing these dances to the general public, and perhaps because of this, two of the works -- An der Moldau and Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! -- have remained virtual rarities.

Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! takes its title and opening melody from the refrain of the Act 1 'Trinklied' (Drinking Song), sung in the operetta by the characters Alfred and Rosalinde, while the second melody is to be found in the Act 1 Trio for Adele, Rosalinde and Eisenstein, "So muss allein ich bleiben". The principal theme of the polka's Trio section appears in the Act 2 ballet, where it forms part of the 'Russian' dance. The source of the second theme of the Trio is not known: it may consist of material discarded from the final version of the stage work, or Johann may have composed it especially for the polka. Similarly, no precise date has been found for the first performance of Glücklich ist, wer vergisst! It seems most likely, however, that the piece was first played during October or November 1874, not by the Strauss Orchestra, but by one of the numerous military orchestras to be found at that time in Vienna.

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