J. Strauss, Tales from the Vienna Woods

Around 1860, at the age of thirty-five, Johann Strauss Jr. envisioned that the Viennese waltz, the famous dance that captivated the Viennese at that time, could gain acceptance and recognition among an international audience. If, in addition, he managed to transfer to that new audience part of the spirit and charm of the land from which he came, so much the better. With this in mind, he set about composing music that would reflect the magic and enchantment of the forests surrounding 19th-century imperial Vienna.

Strauss Jr. (1825 - 1899)

Tales from the Vienna Woods
And he was right. The waltz Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald is, indisputably, after the unsurpassed Blue Danube, one of Johann Strauss Jr.'s most recognized waltzes worldwide.
It is a concert piece, no doubt. Its complete version lasts about fifteen minutes, although we usually hear reduced versions, with uneven results, as the conductor in charge omits the repetitions or even one or two complete pieces. Brazilian conductor and composer Fabio Costa is an exception. He is also an exception in a broader sense, as he usually addresses a few words to the audience at each concert.

Violins, in absence of a zither
The work, composed in 1868 (one year after the Blue D...) originally included a virtuoso zither part. Since today, at least in the Western world, there are no "zitherists" or zither players around the corner, it is customary to replace it with a quartet of violins, or a couple of them if the orchestra is not very large. This is precisely the case with the version we present here. The sections originally commissioned to the zither correspond here to minutes 2:12 to 2:39, and 14:08 to 14:43. And the waltz proper begins at minute 3:01.

Fabio Costa conducts the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra.