Karl Michael Ziehrer, beloved Viennese composer of waltzes and operettas, was born in Vienna on May 2, 1843. He was completely self-taught in music. In 1863 he formed a café-house orchestra with which he toured Austria and Germany, often featuring his own dance pieces and marches. He later expanded this orchestra into an ensemble numbering fifty players with which he gave a series of successful concerts of semi-classical music in Vienna. In 1907 he became music director of the court balls. After World War I he suffered extreme poverty, his personal fortune having been lost with the collapse of the Hapsburg monarchy. He died in want and obscurity in Vienna on November 14, 1922.
Ziehrer wrote more than five hundred popular pieces for orchestra, including numerous marches and waltzes. His waltzes were particularly favored, many of these in the style of Johann Strauss II. Some are still extensively played. Probably the most famous of all his waltzes is Wiener Maedchen (“Vienna Maidens”), which must rank with Lehár’s “Merry Widow Waltz” as one of the most popular such dances produced in Vienna since the time of Johann Strauss II. Its first melody sounds like a Schubert Laendler, with the peasant vigor of its rhythm and its robust tune; but the main subject is a soaring waltz in the finest traditions of Viennese café-house music. The following are other famous Ziehrer waltzes: “Alt Wien” (“Old Vienna”), “Faschingskinder” (“Carnival Children”), and “Wiener Buerger” (“Viennese Citizens”), all three of which come closest among his works in assuming the structural outlines and the melodic identity of the Johann Strauss waltz classics. Also popular are the “Donauwalzer” (“Waltzes from the Danube”) and “Evatochter” (“Daughter of Eve”).
Ziehrer’s most famous operetta is Die Landestreicher (The Vagabonds)—book by L. Krenn and C. Lindau, first performed in Vienna on July 26, 1899. In upper Bavaria two tramps—Fliederbusch and his wife Bertha—manage to live by their wits. Disguised respectively as Prince Gilka and a dancer they visit a famous resort hotel and are involved in numerous adventures. By managing to retrieve a supposedly valuable lost necklace for the Prince they finally win his favor and enter his service. Of particular interest is the captivating waltz at the end of the first act, “Sei gepriesen, du lauschige Nacht.”
From several of Ziehrer’s other operettas there come other delightful waltzes, notably “Samt und Seide” from Der Fremdenfuehrer (1902) and “Hereinspaziert” from Der Schatzmeister (1904).
An Alphabetical Listing of the Lighter Classics in Music
“Abendlied” ([Schumann]) Abendsterne ([Lanner]) Acceleration Waltzes ([Johann Strauss II]) Acclamations ([Waldteufel]) “Ach, ich hab’ sie ja nur die Schulter gekuesst” ([Milloecker]), see The Beggar Student Adagio pathétique ([Godard]) “Addio” ([Tosti]) “Addio all madre” ([Mascagni]), see Cavalleria Rusticana “Addio del passato” ([Verdi]), see La Traviata “Addio fiorito asil” ([Puccini]), see Madama Butterfly Adoration ([Borowski]) L’Africaine: Selections ([Meyerbeer]) Agnus Dei ([Bizet]) “Ah! che la morte ognora,” or “Miserere” ([Verdi]), see Il Trovatore “Ah, fors è lui” ([Verdi]), see La Traviata “Ah Sweet Mystery of Life” ([Herbert]), see Naughty Marietta Aida: Overture, Ballet Music, and Selections ([Verdi]) “Ai nostri monti” ([Verdi]) see Il Trovatore Air, or Air on the G String ([Bach]) Al fresco ([Herbert]) “Allia marcia” ([Sibelius]), see Karelia Suite “Allmaecht’ge Jungfrau,” or “Elisabeth’s Prayer” ([Wagner]), see Tannhaeuser Alley Tunes ([Guion]) “Almost Like Being in Love” ([Loewe]), see Brigadoon Alsatian Scenes ([Massenet]) “Als Bueblein klein” ([Nicolai]), see The Merry Wives of Windsor Alt Wien ([Godowsky]) Alt Wien ([Ziehrer]) Amelia ([Lumbye]) American Fantasia ([Herbert]) American Salute: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” ([Gould]) American Suite ([Cadman]) American Symphonette No. 2 ([Gould]) “Am Meer” ([Schubert]) An American in Paris ([Gershwin]) Andalucia ([Lecuona]) Andaluza ([Granados]), see Spanish Dances Andante cantabile ([Tchaikovsky]) Andante religioso ([Halvorsen]) Andantino ([Kreisler]) An der schoenen blauen Donau ([Johann Strauss II]), see The Blue Danube “An die Musik” ([Schubert]) “The Angelus” ([Herbert]) Anitra’s Dance ([Grieg]), see Peer Gynt Suite, No. 1 Annen-Polka ([Johann Strauss II]) Anvil Chorus ([Verdi]), see “Vedi, le fosche notturne spoglie,” Il Trovatore Apache Dance ([Offenbach]) “Après un rêve” ([Fauré]) Aquarellen ([Josef Strauss]) Arabian Dance ([Tchaikovsky]), see Nutcracker Suite Arkansas Traveler ([Guion]) L’Arlésienne, Suite Nos. 1 and 2 ([Bizet]) “El Arreglito” ([Yradier]) Artist’s Life ([Johann Strauss II]) Ascot Gavotte ([Loewe]), see My Fair Lady Ase’s Death ([Grieg]), see Peer Gynt Suite, No. 1 As You Like It: Dances ([German]) “At Dawning” ([Cadman]) “A te questo rosario” ([Ponchielli]), see La Gioconda Aubade provençale ([Kreisler]) “Auf dem Wasser zu singen” ([Schubert]) Aufforderung zum Tanz ([Weber]), see Invitation to the Dance “Auf Fluegeln des Gesanges” ([Mendelssohn]), see “On Wings of Song” “Au mont Venus” ([Offenbach]), see La Belle Hélène Austrian National Anthem ([Haydn]), see “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” Autumn Song ([Tchaikovsky]), see The Months “Ave Maria” ([Gounod]) “Ave Maria” ([Schubert]) “Ay Chiquita” ([Yradier])
Babes in Toyland: Selections ([Herbert]) Bacchanale, from The Queen of Sheba ([Karl Goldmark]) Bacchanale, from Samson and Delilah ([Saint-Saëns]) Bacchanale, from Tannhaeuser ([Wagner]) Bahn-Frei Polka ([Eduard Strauss]) “Bali H’ai” ([Rodgers]), see South Pacific Ballabile ([Verdi]), see Aida “Ballade vom angenehmen Leben” ([Weill]), see “The Ballad of Pleasant Living,” The Three-Penny Opera “Ballad of Herne the Hunter” ([Nicolai]), see The Merry Wives of Windsor “The Ballad of Pleasant Living” ([Weill]), see The Three-Penny Opera Ballatella, or “Bird Song” ([Leoncavallo]), see “Stridono lassu” Pagliacci Ballet Égyptien ([Luigini]) Ballet Music from Rosamunde ([Schubert]) Ballet Suite (Gluck-Mottl), see [Gluck] The Banjo ([Gottschalk]) Barbara-Song ([Weill]), see The Three-Penny Opera The Barber of Seville: Overture and Selections ([Rossini]) Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann ([Offenbach]) Bartered Bride: Overture and Selections ([Smetana]) Le Baruffe Chiozzotte, Overture ([Sinigaglia]) The Bat ([Johann Strauss II]), see Die Fledermaus Bavarian Dances ([Elgar]) “Beautiful Dreamer” ([Foster]) Beautiful Galathea, Overture ([Suppé]) “Die beiden Grenadiere” ([Schumann]) The Beggar Student: Selections ([Milloecker]) “Bella figlia dell’ amore,” Quartet ([Verdi]), see Rigoletto La Belle Hélène: Selections ([Offenbach]) Berceuse from Jocelyn ([Godard]) Berceuse ([Järnefelt]) “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” ([Gershwin]), see Porgy and Bess Der Bettelstudent ([Milloecker]), see The Beggar Student Big Ben ([Rose]) “Bill” ([Kern]), see Show Boat Bird Song, “Stridono lassu” ([Leoncavallo]), see Pagliacci “Bist du’s, lachendes Glueck” ([Lehár]), see The Count of Luxembourg Black, Brown and Beige ([Ellington]) The Black Domino: Overture ([Auber]) “Blow High, Blow Low” ([Rodgers]), see Carousel The Blue Danube ([Johann Strauss II]) “Blue Heaven” ([Romberg]), see The Desert Song Blue Tango ([Anderson]) La Bohème: Selections ([Puccini]) The Bohemian Girl: Selections ([Balfe]) Bolero ([Moszkowski]) Bolero ([Ravel]) Boris Godunov: Polonaise ([Mussorgsky]) Bridal Procession ([Rimsky-Korsakov]), see Le Coq d’or Brigadoon: Selections ([Loewe]) Brigg Fair ([Grainger]) “Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day” ([Sullivan]), see The Mikado Brindisi ([Verdi]), see “Libiamo, Libiamo,” La Traviata Bugler’s Holiday ([Anderson]) “The Bully’s Ballad” ([Weill]), see The Three-Penny Opera
Caecilien ([Johann Strauss II]) Cakewalk (Gottschalk-Kay), see [Gottschalk] Caliph of Bagdad: Overture ([Boieldieu]) “La Calunnia” ([Rossini]), see The Barber of Seville “Camptown Races” ([Foster]) The Canary ([Mozart]), see German Dances Can-Can ([Offenbach]), see La Belle Hélène, Orpheus in the Underworld “Canon Song” ([Weill]), see The Three-Penny Opera “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” ([Kern]), see Show Boat “Cantique Noël” ([Adam]) “Canto Siboney” ([Lecuona]) Canzonetta ([Sibelius]) Capriccio espagnol ([Rimsky-Korsakov]), see Spanish Caprice Caprice Basque ([Sarasate]) Caprice Viennois ([Kreisler]) “Card Song” ([Bizet]), see Carmen “Carefully on Tip-Toe Stealing” ([Sullivan]), see Pinafore Carmen: Preludes and Selections ([Bizet]) Carnaval à Paris ([Svendsen]), see Carnival in Paris Carnival of Animals ([Saint-Saëns]) Carnival Overture ([Glazunov]) “Caro nome” ([Verdi]), see Rigoletto Carousel: Selections ([Rodgers]) Carousel Waltz ([Rodgers]), see Carousel Casse-noisette ([Tchaikovsky]), see Nutcracker Suite “Casta diva” ([Bellini]), see Norma Catalonia ([Albéniz]) Catfish Row ([Gershwin]), see Porgy and Bess Cavalleria Rusticana: Selections ([Mascagni]) Caucasian Sketches ([Ippolitov-Ivanov]) Cavatina ([Raff]) “Celeste Aida” ([Verdi]), see Aida Central Park ([Goldman]) Champagne Galop ([Lumbye]) Chanson bohème ([Bizet]), see Carmen Chanson Louis XIII et Pavane ([Kreisler]) Chanson sans paroles ([Tchaikovsky]), see Song Without Words Chanson triste ([Tchaikovsky]) “Che gelida manina” ([Puccini]), see La Bohème Children’s Corner ([Debussy]) Children’s Dance ([German]), see As You Like It Children’s Games ([Bizet]) Children’s March ([Goldman]) Children’s March ([Grainger]) Children’s Symphony ([McDonald]) Chimes of Normandy: Selections ([Planquette]) The Chocolate Soldier: Selections ([Straus]) “Chorus of Swords” ([Gounod]), see Faust Christmas Festival ([Anderson]) Le Cid: Ballet Music ([Massenet]) “Cider Song” ([Planquette]), see The Chimes of Normandy “Cielo e mar” ([Ponchielli]), see La Gioconda Circus Day ([Taylor]) Clair de lune ([Debussy]) “Climbing Over Rocky Mountain” ([Sullivan]), see Pirates of Penzance Les Cloches de Corneville ([Planquette]), see The Chimes of Normandy Clog Dance ([Lortzing]), see Czar and Carpenter Cockaigne Overture ([Elgar]) “Cockeyed Optimist” ([Rodgers]), see South Pacific Colas Breugnon: Overture ([Kabalevsky]) The Comedians ([Kabalevsky]) Comedy Overture on Negro Themes ([Gilbert]) “Come Friends Who Plough the Sea” ([Sullivan]), see Pirates of Penzance “Come, Sweet Death” ([Bach]) “La Comparasa” ([Lecuona]) “Come to Me, Bend to Me” ([Loewe]), see Brigadoon Concert Polka ([Lumbye]) Concerto in F ([Gershwin]) “Connais-tu le pays?” ([Thomas]) see Mignon Les Contes d’Hoffmann ([Offenbach]), see Tales of Hoffmann Contredanses ([Beethoven]) Contretaenze ([Mozart]), see Country Dances Conversation Piece: Selections ([Coward]) Coppélia: Suite ([Delibes]) Le Coq d’or: Bridal Procession, Hymn to the Sun ([Rimsky-Korsakov]) La Coquette ([Borowski]) Córdoba ([Albéniz]) Cornish Rhapsody ([Bath]) Coronation March ([Meyerbeer]), see Le Prophète El Corpus en Seville ([Albéniz]), see Fête-Dieu à Seville Cottilon ([Benjamin]) Countess Maritza: Selections ([Kálmán]) The Count of Luxembourg: Selections ([Lehár]) Country Dance ([German]), see Henry VIII Country Dances ([Mozart]) Country Gardens ([Grainger]) Cowboy Rhapsody ([Gould]) “Cradle Song” ([Brahms]) The Crown Jewels: Overture ([Auber]) Cuban Overture ([Gershwin]) Le Cygne ([Saint-Saëns]), see The Swan, Carnival of Animals Czar and Carpenter: Selections ([Lortzing]) Czardas ([Delibes]), see Coppélia Die Czardasfuerstin ([Kálmán]), see The Gypsy Princess Czar und Zimmermann ([Lortzing]), see Czar and Carpenter
Dagger Dance ([Herbert]) “Da geh’ ich zu Maxim” ([Lehár]), see The Merry Widow La Dame blanche: Overture ([Boieldieu]) Damnation of Faust: Selections ([Berlioz]) “D’amor sull’ ali rosee” ([Verdi]), see Il Trovatore Dance in Place Congo ([Gilbert]) Dance of the Blessed Spirits ([Gluck]) Dance of the Buffoons ([Rimsky-Korsakov]) Dance of the Camorristi ([Wolf-Ferrari]), see The Jewels of the Madonna Dance of the Chinese Girls ([Glière]), see The Red Poppy Dance of the Comedians ([Smetana]), see The Bartered Bride Dance of the Flutes ([Tchaikovsky]), see Nutcracker Suite Dance of the Moorish Slaves ([Verdi]), see Aida Dance of the Rose Girls ([Khatchaturian]), see Gayane Dance of the Spanish Onion ([Rose]) Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy ([Tchaikovsky]), see Nutcracker Suite Dance of the Sylphs ([Berlioz]), see Damnation of Faust Dance of the Tumblers ([Rimsky-Korsakov]), see Dance of the Buffoons Dance of the Waves ([Catalani]), see The Loreley Dance of the Wheat ([Ginastera]), see Dances from Estancia Dancers of Mardi Gras ([Cadman]) Dances from Estancia: Dance of the Wheat ([Ginastera]) “Dancing Will Keep You Young” ([Romberg]), see Maytime Danse macabre ([Saint-Saëns]) Danse nègre ([Scott]) Danza della ore ([Ponchielli]), see Dance of the Hours, La Gioconda Daughter of the Regiment: Overture ([Donizetti]) “Dawn of Love” ([Friml]), see The Firefly “Death and the Maiden” ([Schubert]), see “Der Tod und das Maedchen” “Deep in My Heart” ([Romberg]), see The Student Prince “De Glory Road” ([Wolfe]) “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” ([Lehár]), see The Land of Smiles Delirien ([Josef Strauss]) The Deluge ([Saint-Saëns]) “De’ miei bollenti spiriti” ([Verdi]), see Rigoletto “Deserto sulla terra” ([Verdi]), see Il Trovatore The Desert Song: Selections ([Romberg]) Deutsche Taenze ([Beethoven]), see German Dances Deutsche Taenze ([Mozart]) see German Dances Les Diamants de la couronne ([Auber]), see The Crown Jewels Dichter und Bauer, Overture ([Suppé]), see Poet and Peasant “Dich teurer Halle” ([Wagner]), see Tannhaeuser “Di Provenza il mar” ([Verdi]), see La Traviata “Di quella pira” ([Verdi]), see Il Trovatore “Dis moi Venus” ([Offenbach]), see La Belle Hélène Divertissement ([Ibert]) Doctrinen ([Eduard Strauss]) Dolly ([Fauré]) Dolores ([Waldteufel]) Le Domino noir ([Auber]), see The Black Domino Donaulieder ([Johann Strauss I]) “Donkey Serenade” ([Friml]) Donna Diana: Overture ([Rezniček]) “La donne è mobile” ([Verdi]) see Rigoletto Donnerwetter ([Mozart]), see Country Dances Don Pasquale: Overture ([Donizetti]) Dorfschwalben aus Oesterreich ([Josef Strauss]) Dream Pantomime ([Humperdinck]), see Hansel and Gretel Dream Pictures ([Lumbye]) Die Dreigroschenoper ([Weill]), see The Three-Penny Opera “Drinking Song” ([Romberg]), see The Student Prince “Du bist die Ruh” ([Schubert]) “The Duke of Plaza-Toro” ([Sullivan]), see The Gondoliers “Du and Du” ([Johann Strauss II]), see Die Fledermaus Dynamiden ([Josef Strauss])
“Ecco ridente in cielo” ([Rossini]), see The Barber of Seville Eight Russian Folk Songs ([Liadov]) Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien ([Suppé]), see Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Einzugmarsch ([Johann Strauss II]), see The Gypsy Baron El Capitan ([Sousa]) Electrophor-Polka ([Johann Strauss II]) Élégie ([Massenet]), see Les Érynnies Elegy ([Tchaikovsky]), see Serenade for Strings L’Elisir d’amore: Selections ([Donizetti]) “Elisabeth’s Prayer” ([Wagner]), see “Allmacht’ge Jungfrau,” Tannhaeuser “E lucevan le stelle” ([Puccini]), see Tosca Embassy Waltz ([Loewe]), see My Fair Lady Emperor Waltz ([Johann Strauss II]) En bateau ([Debussy]), see Petite suite “The End of a Perfect Day” ([Bond]) “Entry March” ([Johann Strauss II]), see The Gypsy Baron “Der Erlkoenig” ([Schubert]) Les Érynnies ([Massenet]) Escapade ([Rose]) España ([Chabrier]) España ([Waldteufel]) “Estrellita” ([Ponce]) Estudianta ([Waldteufel]) Etudes ([Chopin]), see also Revolutionary Etude Evatochter ([Ziehrer]) Evening in the Tivoli ([Lumbye]) “Evening Song” ([Schumann]), see “Abendlied” Explosions Polka ([Johann Strauss II])