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THERE
are actually three Johann Strauss—JS I, II and III—but
the most popular was Jr., or the II, who wrote one of
the most famous waltzes of all time, “The Blue Danube,”
and the operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat).
Though
he lived in the 19th century, Johann II and his music
heavily influenced later generations of not only
musicians but filmmakers as well.
Alfred
Hitchcock made a low-budget biopic of Strauss in 1933,
called ‘Waltzes from Vienna’, copies of which are hard
to find nowadays. But notice Hitchcock’s later films,
which used much of Strauss music.
Also the
1930s, there’s a stage and screen musical, titled ‘The
Great Waltz’, loosely based on the real-life feud
between Johann I and Johann II. The older Strauss
reportedly was jealous of his son’s “greater talent.” It
ran on Broadway for 289 performances and was made into a
motion picture by MGM in 1938.
In 1953
there was an Academy Award-winning Tom and Jerry
cartoon, titled ‘Johann Mouse’, which was made in honor
of Johann II.
‘The
Great Waltz’ was eventually revived for the stage and on
film in the early 1970s. The musical ran in
Drury Lane Theater
for 605 performances.
Johann
II was very talented and famous that he was called the
Waltz King and when you say Johann Strauss, you could
only be referring to the composer of “The Blue Danube.”
And
together with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van
Beethoven, the name Johann Strauss will always mean
musical genius, a god among composers whose works will
continue to be appreciated for as long as there’s
humanity.
We all
learned these valuable pieces of information as we
prepared for the International Vienna New Year Concert,
happening tonight at 7, at the ballroom of Mandarin
Oriental Manila in Makati City.
Helmut
Gaisberger, general manager of Mandarin Oriental Manila,
said the concert has been a tradition for many years.
Originally performed by the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra at the Musikverein, the New Year Concert is
being broadcast from
Vienna
to an estimated audience of more than 1 billion in 44
countries.
He
recounts, “It originated during a dark period of
Austria’s history in the late 1800s, when concerts were
initially conceived for a local audience as a reminder
of better times and a source of hope for the future.
Following the death of Johann Strauss in 1899, the
Vienna Philharmonic honored the great composer with a
series of Jubilee Concerts that sparked a Strauss
Renaissance that has made Strauss music permanent on the
orchestra’s repertoire.”
He added
that the first Vienna New Year Concert took place on
December 31, 1939, at the Musikverein in
Vienna,
when Dr. Clemens Krauss, known as the “Pioneer of
Strauss culture,” conducted the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra in an all-Johann Strauss concert.
Gaisberger said the concert here in the Philippines is
being held in the last week of February because he
observed that many concertgoers who love classical music
are usually out of the country during the long holiday
season. They usually arrive here in late January or
early February.
So for
tonight, the program includes the Overture: Abduction
from the Seraglio and Piano Concerto No. 28 in D, K. 382
(Concert Rondo) by Mozart. There’s Polonaise: Grand
Polonaise Brillante and Andante Spianato, op. 22 by
Frederic Chopin.
Among
the Johann Strauss’s classics are “Vienna Blood Waltz,”
“Toy Train,” “Egyptian March,” “Perpetuum Mobile,”
“Hunting Polka” and the famous “The Blue Danube.”
The
concert features the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO)
with guest Austrian conductor Ernest Hoetzl and pianist
Rudolf Golez. Hoetzl is often called Austria’s
ambassador of music and regularly works with more than
20 orchestras all over the world. He has performed with
the PPO for more than a decade, the latest being An
Evening with Mozart concert held in May 2006 at the
Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park. He was also
featured in 2007 in a concert with Rachelle Gerodias and
Lemuel de la Cruz, presented by the Johann Strauss
Society of the Philippines at the ballroom of Mandarin
Oriental Manila.
Golez
has diverse training in German and French styles of
pianism. He was the sole prize winner of a Chopin
competition held in Kuala Lumpur not so long ago.
Proceeds
of tonight’s concert will go to the GeoChris Foundation
Inc., which is headed by Fr. Georg Ziselsberger, SVD, an
Austrian priest who has lived in the Philippines for 15
years. He said the beneficiaries will be the indigenous
groups of the Pala’wan and Tagbanwa in the southwestern
part of
Palawan, whose livelihood programs he designed and supervises.
The
concert’s sponsors are Boesendorfer and ROS Music
Center, BMW, Qatar Airways, Rustan’s, Wagner Biro, Globe
and the Johann Strauss Society of the Philippines.
“We hope
to share with lovers of classical music in Manila the
delightful experience of having this awesome Austrian
tradition. We took extra effort in ensuring
authenticity, like recreating to a certain extent the
Musikverein in our ballroom,” says Gaisberger.
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Tickets are available at Mandarin Oriental’s Lobby Shop.
Following the performance, concertgoers have the option
to have dinner at the hotel’s Tivoli restaurant, which
will offer a three-course dinner. Reservations can be
made at 750-8888, extension 2433. |
