The Viennese Dance Series for Chamber Ensembles
Josef Lanner
Die Osmanen Waltzes, Op.146 for String Quartet or Piano Quintet
Die Osmanen Waltzes were composed in 1839 and premiered by his orchestra in July of that year at a festival ball given at the famous Goldenen Birne (The Golden Pear) dance hall in Vienna. It was common for Viennese balls to have themes and or titles. Lanner called his Die Pracht des Orients. (The Splendor of the Orient). For the Viennese, it was the Ottoman Turks, who had come close to sacking the city on two occasions, who represented the exotic orient. The main theme is taken from the overture of Carl Gottlieb Reissiger's opera, the Stone Mill. The waltzes, which later became quite popular, were dedicated to the Turkish Sultan Achmed Fethy Pasha, who was then on a visit to Vienna and the guest of honor at the ball.
Josef Lanner (1801-1843), although not so well-known as either Johann Strauss Sr., was one of the original pioneer "Waltz
Kings" of Vienna. Today, outside of Vienna, he is all but forgotten. But some extraordinarily lovely music came from his pens. And all of it was originally intended for small chamber music ensembles. Josef Lanner, a violinist, was largely self-taught. At first a member of a small local Viennese dance orchestra, Lanner formed a string quartet and went out on his own. He met with immediate success and after a few years increased the size of his group to a small string orchestra which included Johann Strauss, Sr. who served as Lanner's deputy leader. Was this music specifically written for string quartet or piano quintet. The original setting for Die Osmanen Walzer was for a string quartet consisting of 3 violins and a bass or cello but it can also be played by the traditional string quartet of 2 violins, viola and cello. We have also made an arrangement for piano and string quartet. (piano quintet). Our sound-bite presents abbreviated sections of four of the five waltzes.
String Quartet Parts: $14.95
Piano Quintet Parts: $19.95
