Josef Strauss - Aquarellen Walzer, Op. 258 (1869)

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.

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Aquarellen Walzer, Op. 258 (1869)

Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Willi Boskovsky

Description by Robert Cummings
This somewhat melancholy and introverted figure in the Strauss family has been assessed by some as the most talented of them all. Josef Strauss' output was considerable, too, but because of his premature death at 43 it reached only about half the size of his prolific brother Johann II's. It has been suggested that after his death, some of Josef's "lost" manuscripts may have been used by his more famous older brother. In any event the Aquarellen Waltz, is one of Josef's more popular efforts and evidences his remarkable talent for melody and imaginative instrumentation. Its introduction mixes pleasantry and angst, the darker elements coming in the closing measures, hardly creating the light atmosphere found in the opening sections of most of Johann II's efforts. The waltz theme that ensues is robust and muscular, almost with a vehemence in its thumping manner. The music thereafter has a more pleasant and lyrical character and later mixes romantic warmth and playfulness. All in all, this waltz displays a wide emotional range, at times veering toward a more serious manner of expression. This approximately eight-minute "Watercolor Waltz" is a thoroughly rewarding experience for the listener.