Free balls
Freikugeln is a quick polka by Johann Strauss Sohn (op. 326). The work was performed for the first time on July 27, 1868 in the Vienna Prater .
Remarks
The polka was composed on the occasion of an international shooting festival in Vienna's Prater and premiered there. The course of a shooting festival is imitated musically. The work was enthusiastically received. A performance one day later in Vienna's Volksgarten was also very well received. The title name is of course derived from the said shooting festival. In the legend, free balls were considered somewhat diabolically weathered balls that were steered to the goal by the devil, who demanded something in return. This tradition was known to a large part of the population at least since the premiere of the opera Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber in 1821. However, one can assume that Strauss did not wish the shooters any devilish (and, as in the opera, fatal support). He just wanted to wish them to be as accurate with their shots as if they were free balls. In 1899, Adolf Müller used parts of this work in the operetta Wiener Blut , which he composed based on motifs by Johann Strauss (son) .
The playing time on the CD listed under individual records is exactly 3 minutes. This time can vary somewhat depending on the conductor's musical conception.
Web links
Individual proof
- ↑ Source: English version of the booklet (page 90) in the 52 CD complete edition of the orchestral works by Johann Strauss (son), publisher Naxos (label) . The work can be heard as the ninth track on the 33rd CD.