Wahlstimmen op.250 - Johann Strauss II

Описание: Wahlstimmen (Votes), walzer op.250. Author: Johann Strauss II (1825-1899).
Picture: Bundeskanzleramt, Vienna

During the 1850s the far from cohesive Habsburg Empire sustained a number of savage body blows: the Crimean War (1853-6) isolated her in Europe and alienated her from Russia, while the Italian War (1859) highlighted her military weakness and persuaded the Austrian government to seek an urgent reconciliation with Hungary over the vexed question of the preservation of the Hungarian constitution. The broad aim of the 'October Diploma' of 20 October 1860 was the rearrangement of the political organisation within the Austrian Empire, by providing a federal system of government along constitutional lines. In the event, it served only to increase tension between the various nationalities of the empire and was rejected, principally by Hungary. The diploma was eventually withdrawn by the Austrian government in April 1861.

The 'October Diploma' allowed the provincial diets to choose their own representative for the federal council, and it was this process of regional voting to which Johann Strauss alluded in the title of the newly-composed Wahlstimmen Walzer, dedicated to the law students of Vienna University on the occasion of their ball held in the Sofienbad-Saal on 28 January 1861. Later that year the waltz enjoyed several successful performances at Pavlovsk during the composer's sixth summer season of concerts in Russia.