This Chandos recording uses 24-bit / 48 kHz technology, which offers a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings.
Composition History
Johann Strauss II composed the Grossfürsten-Marsch to celebrate the presence of Russian Grand Dukes Nikolai and Mikhail in Vienna, receiving a diamond ring as a reward.
Composition History
The Alexander-Quadrille by Johann Strauss II incorporates a collection of Serbian folk tunes and was dedicated to the ruling Serbian Prince Alexander Karađjorđjević.
Historical Context
The Russian word for a railway station, 'voksal', derives from London's famous Vauxhall Gardens, which inspired the Vauxhall pavilion in Pavlovsk, St. Petersburg.
Composer Biography
Johann Strauss II, a leading Viennese dance music composer, performed in St. Petersburg for eleven seasons, laying the foundation for his considerable personal wealth.
Compositional Technique
The quadrille, a popular 19th-century ballroom dance, typically had five sections elsewhere in Europe, but the Viennese version, as seen in Strauss's Alexander-Quadrille, featured six distinct sections.
Composer Biography
Johann Strauss II fell in love with Olga Smirnitskaya, a musically educated Russian aristocrat who also composed; he even orchestrated some of her pieces for his Pavlovsk concerts.
