Radetzky March

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Cover of the Radetzky March, op.228 (1848)
Radetzky March (duration 2:33)

The Radetzky March ( Armeemarsch II, 145) one of Johann Strauss (father) composed and Field Marshal Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz dedicated march and carries the Opus -Number 228. The premiere took place on August 31, 1848 at the water Glacis in Vienna instead of.

History of the creation of the work

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, who gave the march its name

Historically, the origin of the march belongs to a phase of the March Revolution in Vienna, before which, on the one hand, the rebels reached important concessions before it began. These included the resignation of Prince Metternich on March 13, 1848 , the hated 74-year-old symbolic figure of the Restoration, on March 14, the first concessions by Emperor Ferdinand I to establish a national guard and the lifting of censorship , and on March 15, the granting of freedom of the press and a constitutional pledge. This was announced on April 25, 1848; it and the Reichstag electoral regulations published on May 9, caused outrage in their extensive restrictions , which led to renewed unrest ("May Revolution"): On May 17, 1848, the emperor fled to Innsbruck .

On July 22nd, 1848, the constituent Austrian Reichstag was opened by Archduke Johann with 383 delegates from Austria and the Slavic countries . Among other things, the peasants' exemption from inheritance was decided there at the beginning of September.

On the other hand, on July 25, 1848, Field Marshal Josef Wenzel Radetzky von Radetz had won a convincing victory at Custozza over the Piedmontese troops and finally on August 6, Lombardy was regained for Austria. This gave the restorative forces in Vienna the moral upper hand again, and cherished the hope of being able to push back or destroy the revolutionaries in Vienna with the help of the military.

One of the harbingers of the coming events, known as the Vienna October Revolution , was the bloody suppression of a workers' protest on August 23, 1848, which went down in history as the " Praterschlacht ": a 5 kreuzer cut in emergency payments by Labor Minister Ernst Schwarzer (meant However, a percentage reduction in payments for men by 25%, for women even by 33%) The protest march was bloodily suppressed by the Imperial National Guard, with unarmed workers, women and children being the main victims. Emperor Ferdinand also returned to Vienna on August 12, 1848.

In this situation, Strauss (father), whose sympathies were always on the side of the emperor-loyal people, started a victory festival on August 31, 1848 in the park of the Wasserglacis "in honor of the brave army in Italy and in support of the wounded warriors" announced the world premiere of a new march, which was premiered as the Radetzky March . On the title page of the first piano edition it received the addition "in honor of the great general ... and dedicated to the Imperial and Royal Army".

music

History of origin

Hans Schliessmann : Radetzky March (before 1920)

The march in its original version from 1848 is a happy, lively piece without any martial posturing.

The famous main theme of the march (Opus 228) originally begins with a four-bar short marker, followed by the melody that became world-famous. As the Strauss researcher Norbert Linke has shown , Strauss (father) falls back on a long-term development of these parts: The prelude bars (suggestions) can be found for the first time in 1828 in the Lust-Lager Walzer (op. 18), the second part of the Melody was also used for the first time in 1828 in the Krapfen-Waldl ​​waltz (op. 12, waltz 4 b) and can also be found modified as waltz part 3 a in the Lust-Lager waltz. Further melody parts can be found in the typical Straussian variation technique on the quotation side in opera 144, 217 and 221. In the “Jubel Quadrille ” (op. 130 from 1841) in its “Finale” the entire marching theme, which Strauss (father) used here seven years later, has already been performed in the A section, almost true to note.

Linke refutes the claim of the Strauss biographer Heinrich Eduard Jacob (1937) that Strauss' father derived the melody from the overture to Rossini's opera " Wilhelm Tell ". The assertion that Philipp Fahrbach the Elder was the actual composer also finally relegates Linke to the realm of legend: Fahrbach did, however, arrange the arrangements for military and harmony music . It is also asserted that the beginning is also quite similar to the second theme of the Allegro from Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 100 , composed in 1794 : this is also wrong. Arrangements of various Haydn works were part of the permanent repertoire of the Strauss Orchestra, but should rather stimulate the early evidence in the opp. 12 and 18 from Strauss (father) from 1828.

According to Linke, the trio melody is “a two-part clarinet yodel, for which funny flaps and trills are characteristic.” There are only two harmonic levels (1st and 2nd level). “Sometimes the sex upswing gurgles in the tonic, sometimes in the dominant, in the second trio part it's the other way around. The music seems to be treading on the spot, only outwardly 'dramatized' by the forte and the 'wiping run' in the second part, before everything falls back into the cluck of the piano. "

Linke also refuted several legends that can be found in various Strauss biographies about the "trio" of the Radetzky March:

  • One of the numerous legends about the Strauss family, which has been claimed in various biographies, is that it is a piece called “Alter Tanz aus Wien” or “Tinerl-Lied”, some with the decoration that it is named after a popular singer and / or dudler at the time , called "Lerchenfelder Tinerl". This goes back to his youngest son, Eduard Strauss , who first claimed this in his often imprecise “Memories”. Despite all efforts, including by specialists like Josef Koller , a singer or dudler with this name has never been found. Incidentally, Linke points out that the range of the trio is too large and the intervals so difficult that it cannot be sung at all.
  • Another legend is also valid: When Radetzky returned to Vienna after the victorious battle of Custozza (1848), his soldiers sang this popular song on the street and Strauss allegedly heard this soldier's song and is said to have hardly changed it, albeit in marching rhythm, but hardly melodically , built into the Radetzky March. This too goes back to Eduard Strauss and his “memories”, but there in the variant that the soldiers “whistled” this “when they left Vienna”.
  • In his biography on Strauss (Father) (1954), Max Schönherr again referred to an - allegedly - old Viennese melody from 1845, which Eduard Kremser reproduced in his collection “Wiener Lieder und Tänze” from 1913 with the assertion: “This dance was by J. Strauss sen. used in the Trio of the Radetzky March. ”However, Kremser produced this Länders version based on the Trio of the March and also secured the copyright to it. Linke calls this forgery “the greatest hussar piece”.
  • More recent and thoroughly serious Strauss biographies speak of the citation of “an old Viennese song”, but also fail to provide proof of origin.

In 2019 Linke presented new evidence on the history of its origins. He points out that there are two sellable copyist's manuscripts in the Vienna Library (call numbers MHc 13129 and MHc 14492). In addition, an original that comes as close as possible was made by his grandson Johann Strauss III. which was published in 1914 by Verlag Scheithauer in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

Using his knowledge, Linke also assigns the Trio des Marsches in his research results to a Tyrolean folk song, a sung two-part countryman, Fein sein, beieinand 'remain ... (a marriage song ), of which Strauss (father) (basically only) the first six Uses clocks. By omitting the subdominant, the "translation" into a consistent march rhythm, as well as the use of repetitions, interchanges and yodel sequences (which do not exist in the folk song but are derived from it), Strauss created a genius with this trio of the Radetzky March alone Piece of music.

In this way, Linke refers the "memories" of his son Eduard to a simple (and also obvious) hearing and memory error ("Tinerl" and "Tiroler"), but also that the text (be fine, stay together ...) is definitely could also have had his own sense for the troops and actually contained a message of international understanding.

Another story

Despite its historical background, the march was extremely popular from the start. As far as can be proven, he and his family successors (his sons Johann Strauss (son) , Josef and Eduard ) and his grandson Johann Strauss III. at best, adjustments were made to the orchestral arrangement, as the march was originally written for an orchestra of 24–28 people (the orchestra size of the father at the time), of which only the parts existed. The publisher Haslinger only published two and four-handed arrangements for piano, the two copyists' copies of the Vienna Library (call numbers MHc 13129 and MHc 14492) are the only known "compilations".

Instrumental thickenings and in particular the single drum rhythm known today come from post-Straussian times.

In the mid-1930s, the then head of the NSDAP Kreismusikstelle Leipzig, the composer and arranger Leopold Weninger , who was influential in the music business and who had already distinguished himself with a Sturmführer march , a Hitler anthem and arrangements of various SA marches, also made an arrangement of the “Radetzky March” in the sense of the prevailing ideology. This turned the very nonmilitary piece by a considerably thickened instrumentation, which has also changed melodious, and through the "single drum" rhythm, a march that to the then martial posturing of the rulers fit seamlessly with the annexation of Austria was also taken there : Recordings of his arrangement were even made by music corps of SS divisions, including those that were set up in Austria. The (NS) version by Weninger is the basis of almost all known recordings and performances by orchestras, including (and uncritically) the end of the annual New Year's concert by the Vienna Philharmonic . The fact that these follow an arrangement and do not correspond to the original is concealed.

Another arrangement was created in the early 1950s by the Viennese composer Max Schönherr. Since the original instrumentation was also not available to him, he orientated himself on the existing sheet music and tried as much as possible to approximate the melodic colors from the traditional material and the sound of the performance practice available to him from his research at the time of the original.

If the original version is played by Johann Strauss (father), the addition “original version” or “first version” is usually used, which is incorrect because Strauss (father) did not create or authorize any further versions of this march; it would rather be necessary to name the respective editor or arranger for performances (Weninger, Schönherr, etc.).
A (further) printing copy of this "original version" (copyist's copy) was rediscovered in 1999 in the Vienna City and State Library (today: Vienna Library) by Strauss researcher Norbert Rubey . It was only later that it turned out to be identical to the one that was already there had been in the Vienna Library for a long time.

At the end of 2019, Oliver Rathkolb announced that the Vienna Philharmonic would now play the version of the later Nazi bard Leopold Less from 1914 as the conclusion of the New Year's Concert, who this year mainly worked in arrangements for salon orchestras for various publishers: But Even in the New Year's Concert 2020 the NS version remained. An explanation of why the “family-based” (and available) version by Johann Strauss (grandson), which in Linkes' view comes closest to the (lost) original, or why the available copyist manuscripts have not been used, remains open.

reception

New Years Concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic

The New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic traditionally ends with the Radetzky March, but the version played here and elsewhere by the Vienna Philharmonic is not the march that Strauss (father) composed, nor does it correspond to the existing copyist manuscripts in the Vienna Library the version probably closest to the original by his grandson, but is the version created by Leopold Weninger, who was influential during the Nazi era. Weninger's arrangement, which in turn became famous for "SA marches", a "Hitler hymn" and similar pieces of music, was first popularized (and subsequently expanded) by Clemens Krauss in a first concert in favor of the Winter Relief Organization of the German People in 1939 ), but is still celebrated today by the Vienna Philharmonic and many other Viennese orchestras (including the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra , this even on the Austrian National Day ) at home and abroad.

The audience regularly claps this wrong version in time after the conduct, which is also part of the tradition of Nazi music. Carlos Kleiber spoke out against this tradition when conducting the New Year's concerts in 1989 and 1992 , but could not prevail. Franz Welser-Möst, who conducted the New Years Concerts in 2011 and 2013, also emphasized: "The Radetzky March without clapping is definitely a better piece."

The original - also based on the (further) original printing copy found again in 1999 - was compared to Weninger's version in the New Year's Concert 2001 by Nikolaus Harnoncourt , but the performance practice was not changed.

There was one exception in 2005 - this encore was dropped out of respect for the victims of the great tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia .

Reception in other areas (examples)

  • The high popularity of the march led to his distinctive rhythm (datadám datadám datadám damdam = three anapaests , an iambic ) many concealed or openly mocking subtexts circulated (z. B. If the courage exercises in the chest his Spánnkraft or if the pug jumps over Rínnstein with the sausage and the stork devours a frog in the air ).
  • Its almost symbolic importance for Austria-Hungary was reflected in the fact that Joseph Roth called his novel about the fall of the dual monarchy Radetzkymarsch .
  • The Radetzky March is one of Austria's secret hymns , alongside the waltz On the beautiful blue Danube by Johann Strauss (son) (“Donauwalzer”) and the Austropop song I am from Austria by Rainhard Fendrich .
  • The Radetzky March has served as the regimental march of the British 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards regiment since 1896 . This unit also carries the double-headed eagle as a regimental badge . These elements remind us that Emperor Franz Joseph was once regiment owner.
  • In the British television series number 6 ( The Prisoner 1967, German 1969) the piece finds an almost thematic use in a special way. In the place of captivity ( “the village” ) of the protagonist number six, the local brass band gives concerts every now and then and often starts the Radetzky March, which is in stark contrast to the slightly utopian setting.
  • The Radetzky March was used as advertising music for various products, for example for a mixed milk drink from the Bärenmarke company and for a Bonduelle canned vegetable (1985).
  • Wondra and Zwickl used the melody in their piece "When the dog jumps over the corner stone with the sausage - theme with variations".
  • For soccer matches of the Austrian national soccer team , the Radetzky March is played before the start of the game. Many fans wave an Austrian flag in time.
  • The pace of the piece corresponds to the recommended pace for chest compressions . Due to its high level of popularity in Austria, it is therefore used as a memory aid in first aid courses.

literature

Urban Bacher: Deutsche Marschmusik , Konstanz 2013, pp. 111/112; 2nd edition, Konstanz 2019, pp. 198 ff, 226–239.

Web links

Commons : Radetzky-Marsch  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frank Miller (d. I. Helmut Reichenauer ): Johann Strauss father - the musical magician of the Viennese Biedermeier . Documentary biography. Castell-Verlag, Eisenburg [d. i. Vasvár ], 1999, ISBN 3-9501095-0-1 , p. 331.
  2. ^ Frank Miller: Johann Strauss father - the musical magician of the Viennese Biedermeier . Documentary biography. Castell-Verlag, Eisenburg [d. i. Vasvár ], 1999, ISBN 3-9501095-0-1 , pp. 333/334.
  3. ^ A b Frank Miller: Johann Strauss father - the musical magician of the Viennese Biedermeier . Documentary biography. Castell-Verlag, Eisenburg [d. i. Vasvár ], 1999, ISBN 3-9501095-0-1 , p. 334.
  4. ↑ a b c Norbert Linke: Music conquers the world . Herold, Vienna 1987, ISBN 3-7008-0361-3 , p. 166.
  5. ↑ a b Norbert Linke: Music conquers the world . Herold, Vienna 1987, ISBN 3-7008-0361-3 , pp. 165-166.
  6. ↑ Norbert Linke: "Something had to come to mind" - investigations into the compositional work method of the "naturalists". Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1992, ISBN 3-7952-0732-0 , p. 124.
  7. ↑ For readers: In the German-speaking countries, a march generally follows the form “A – B – A”, with the middle section “B” being referred to as a “trio”.
  8. ^ A b c Eduard Strauss: Memories , Franz Deuticke, Leipzig 1906, pp. 170–171.
  9. ↑ Left refers to Josef Koller: Das Wiener Volkssängertum in old and new times. Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna 1931.
  10. ↑ a b Max Schönherr, Karl Reinöhl: The Century of the Waltz - 1. Volume - Johann Strauss Father , Universal Edition, London 1954, p. 309. For the version created by Kremser see Eduard Kremser: Wiener Lieder und Tänze. Second volume. Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna 1913, p. 218.
  11. ↑ Norbert Linke: Ongoing guesswork about the origin of the Radetzky March, op.228, by Johann Strauss (father) In: Neues Leben - Das Magazin für Strauss-Liebhabe and Freunde der Wiener Operetta , No. 60 (2019/1), ISSN  1438-065X , pp. 29-38, here: p. 30.
  12. ↑ Norbert Linke: Ongoing guesswork about the origin of the Radetzky March, op.228, by Johann Strauss (father) In: Neues Leben - Das Magazin für Strauss-Liebhabe and Freunde der Wiener Operetta , No. 60 (2019/1), ISSN  1438-065X , pp. 29-38, here: pp. 34-35.
  13. ↑ Norbert Linke: Ongoing guesswork about the origin of the Radetzky March, op.228, by Johann Strauss (father) In: Neues Leben - Das Magazin für Strauss-Liebhabe and Freunde der Wiener Operetta , No. 60 (2019/1), ISSN  1438-065X , pp. 29-38, here: p. 37.
  14. ^ A b Norbert Rubey: Printer's copy and original version of the Radetzky March discovered. In: Vienna Institute for Strauss Research (Ed.): Die Fledermaus - Mitteilungen 11-13, August 2000. Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2000, ISBN 3-7952-0962-5 , p. 220.
  15. ↑ Norbert Linke: Ongoing guesswork about the origin of the Radetzky March, op.228, by Johann Strauss (father) In: Neues Leben - Das Magazin für Strauss-Liebhabe and Freunde der Wiener Operetta , No. 60 (2019/1), ISSN  1438-065X , pp. 29-38, here: p. 30.
  16. ↑ for evidence of the arrangement by Weninger and its use in the New Year's concert, see z. B. Jeroen HC Tempelman: On the Radetzky March. P. 5 (English)
  17. ↑ Last time on October 26, 2018.
  18. ↑ Welser-Möst criticizes clapping along ORF Vienna, interview by Florian Kobler, published on January 6, 2012. Accessed on January 3, 2019.
  19. ↑ a b c d e For this reception example, too, there is no suitable receipt. If you have found a corresponding document, please add it here as an individual reference in the source text.
  20. ↑ In addition, various evidence on the Internet, for Bonduelle z. B. the advertising clip on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCMwpJ2AY1k
  21. ↑ kurier.at: 40 hits that help save lives. April 14, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017 .