Johann Strauss Jr. il Pipistrello Ita

When the Court Opera Director Wilhelm Jahn commissioned the by no means unvain Johann Strauss Jr. to write a ‘genuine’ opera, he readily accepted. So, he wrote Ritter Pásmán, a work the Waltz King himself regarded as his only one in this genre, although the plot is basically like an operetta. The source was the narrative Pázmán lovag by the Hungarian writer János Aranyi (1817-1882). It deals with jealousy and a kind of tit-for-tat. The premiere of the comic opera at the Vienna Court Opera on New Year’s Day 1892 was a major society event, but its artistic success lagged somewhat behind. The reviewers of the premiere were distanced towards the work. On the one hand, they unanimously elevated the ballet music at the beginning of Act III to the status of an absolute masterpiece. (By the way, this was the first time that a cimbalom could be heard in the orchestra of the Court Opera). The present live recording was captured at the Vienna Musikverein on 27 October 1975, with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Heinz Wallberg, Eberhard Waechter as Ritter Pásmàn, Sona Ghazarian as Queen, Josef Hopfwieser as Hungarian King, and Truedeliese Schmidt as Eva as main cast. The recording includes the complete ballet music as bonus tracks, performed by the Slovac State Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alfred Walter.

Together with his joyful Johann Strauss Orchestra and numerous international soloists, André Rieu celebrated a cheerful and emotional party, which ended night after night with a grand firework display. The numerous highlights on this DVD include world hits such as Ballade pour Adeline, Can’t Help Falling in Love, Volare, Bolero, An der schönen blauen Donau and Highland Cathedral with around 300 bagpipers. The emotional highlight of the concert was the French ESC title “Voilà” sung by the extraordinary 15-year-old singer Emma Kok, who moved the audience to tears and went viral on the internet.

Together with his joyful Johann Strauss Orchestra and numerous international soloists, André Rieu celebrated a cheerful and emotional party, which ended night after night with a grand firework display. The numerous highlights on this DVD include world hits such as Ballade pour Adeline, Can’t Help Falling in Love, Volare, Bolero, An der schönen blauen Donau and Highland Cathedral with around 300 bagpipers. The emotional highlight of the concert was the French ESC title “Voilà” sung by the extraordinary 15-year-old singer Emma Kok, who moved the audience to tears and went viral on the internet.

This recording, released in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss II, pays tribute to this vital yet often forgotten tradition of 19th-century music-making. It offers a selection of Strauss’s most iconic compositions in these original four-hand settings, a now largely forgotten art form that was once a cornerstone of music-making in the 19th century. Pianists Alessandro Deljavan and Matthieu Idmtal prove themselves to be the ideal interpreters of this music, perfectly capturing its essential spirit: graceful, spontaneous, humorous, and elegantly dance-like.

Johann Strauss' famous waltzes, polkas and marches are the "definition" of uplifting and enthousiastic music. James Last adds his well known magic touch and the result is one of the most happy albums you can hear. Enjoy "Tales From The Vienna Woods", "Radetzky March", "Emperor Waltz", "Thunder And Lightening" and more Strauss' masterpieces, the James Last's way.