Josef Strauss - Transactionen Walzer, Op. 184 (1865)

Josef Luckhardt Strauss (20 August 1827 – 22 July 1870) was an Austrian composer. He was the brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to choose a career in the Austrian Habsburg military. He studied music with Franz Dolleschal and learned to play the violin with Franz Anton Ries. Please support my channel: https://ko-fi.com/bartjebartmans Transactionen Walzer, Op. 184 (1865) Introduction (0:00) Waltz No. 1 (1:17) No. 2 (2:59) No. 3 (3:55) No. 4 (4:44) No. 5 (5:58) Coda (7:03) Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Willi Bovskovsky The waltz was composed in 1865, during a period when Strauss was suffering from a serious and incurable brain disease. His health forced him to miss the Carnival season’s dance halls. The piece, premiered on August 2, 1865, at a charity concert in Vienna’s Volksgarten, reflects both his personal struggles and his artistic vision — a danceable work that borders on symphonic beauty, imbued with a sense of longing and hope. In a dictionary sense, “transactions” refers to financial deals, exchanges of goods or services, and dealings involving money or capital. The title evokes imagery of the stock exchange, shares, and economic activity. Strauss himself, according to accounts of the first edition’s title page, may have intended the “entrepreneur” in the title to be Amour (the god of love), symbolically placing a man’s right hand into a woman’s left — a gesture representing the passionate reunion or reconciliation of two lovers. This reading transforms “transactions” from a financial metaphor into a romantic one, suggesting a union or emotional exchange.