Farewell to America Waltz
Farewell to America is a waltz which Johann Strauss Jr. is credited. The date and place of the premiere are unknown.
Remarks
As with several works that Johann Strauss wrote or is said to have written during his trip to America in 1872, this waltz is also a mystery. Here, too, the authorship of the Viennese composer is controversial. In this case, however, the waltz was composed from earlier works by Johann Strauss. The work consists of parts of the waltz Wiener Punch-Lieder (op.131), spirals (op.209), flight of thoughts (op.215), controversies (op.191) and promotions (op.221). In addition, Josef Strauss quotes from the waltz Petitions (op. 153) . It is strange that not a single one of these works was in Johann Strauss' concert program during his American tour. The use of one of his brother's waltzes is also unusual for Johann Strauss, as he could certainly have used his own works enough. The suspicion is that the entire waltz Farewell to America was composed by an arranger without the knowledge of Johann Strauss. It is not known whether there was ever an orchestral version. A piano reduction was published in 1872 by Oliver Ditson & Comp. deposited with the Library of Congress in Boston . Oliver Ditson is also considered a possible arranger of the work. The CD recording mentioned below is based on the orchestral version by Jerome D. Cohen based on the piano reduction.
The playing time on the CD listed under individual records is 7 minutes and 54 seconds. Depending on the musical conception of the conductor, this time can vary by up to about a minute plus or minus.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source: English version of the booklet (page 121) in the 52 CD complete edition of the orchestral works by Johann Strauss (son), published by Naxos (label) . The work can be heard as the second track on the 47th CD.