Pizzicato polka - Johann Strauss II
Channel: Thierry Henry
Date: 15/06/2019

The second of the Strauss brothers, Josef (1827-70), had been the first to tread the path of matrimony. Though very happily married since 1857, Josef constantly strove to become financially independent so he could break free from the oppressive confines of the Strauss family apartments in the massive 'Hirschenhaus' in Leopoldstadt and establish a home of his own with his wife and daughter. This possibility appeared to him to advance a step closer when, in 1868, brother Johann reached agreement with the management of the St Petersburg Tsarskoye-Selo Railway Company for Josef and himself to share the conducting of concerts at Pavlovsk during the summer months of 1869. 

The two Strauss brothers were accompanied on their 1869 venture to Russia by Johann's wife, Jetty (1818-78), whose letters home show that the underlying disharmony which had long existed between 'Jean' (Johann) and 'Pepi' (Josef) had largely given way to a spirit of mutual co-operation. As the two musical directors were now able to divide the workload of rehearsing and conducting the orchestra, both had sufficient time to compose. On 13 June 1869 (= 1 June, Russian calendar), Jetty wrote from Pavlovsk to Josef¡¦s wife Caroline (1831-1900) in Vienna: "Pepi & Jean are now writing a polka together - that again will be something new". Almost twenty-three years later, on 1 April 1892, Johann detailed in a letter to his publisher Fritz Simrock the events which had culminated in this fraternal collaboration: "I advised my brother Josef - so that he could secure the St Petersburg engagement (I have been there 10 times and earned a lot of money) [-] to compose something which would catch on in St Petersburg, and suggested he should prepare a pizzicato polka. He did not want to do it - he was always indecisive - finally I proposed to him that the polka should be created by the two of us. He agreed, and just look - the polka caused a furore in the true sense of the word". 

Johann Strauss was not exaggerating. The records kept by the diarist F.A. Zimmermann, a viola-player in the 47-strong orchestra at Pavlovsk, show clearly that the work was played no less than nine times on the evening it was first introduced to the Russian public - 24 June 1869 (= 12 June). One can only guess at the scenes which must have ensued as the public demonstrated its wild enthusiasm for this novelty item which, according to Johann, was the very first of its kind. (Léo Delibes's famous Pizzicato-Polka for his ballet Sylvia, ou La Nymphe de Diane was not heard until 1876.) In view of the work's success, it is strange that Johann and Josef omitted the Pizzicato-Polka from their next eleven concerts and only reintroduced it at their benefit performance on 6 July 1869 (= 24 June), when the piece had to be played a total of seven times. At subsequent performances during the remainder of the Pavlovsk season, the Pizzicato-Polka continued to exert its extraordinary effect upon the public. 

Outside the lands of the Tsar, the Pizzicato-Polka began its conquest of the world when Josef Strauss conducted its Viennese première on 14 November 1869 during the first of his promenade concerts that season with the Strauss Orchestra at the Sofienbad-Saal. In addition to the Pizzicato-Polka - which was given by a quartet of players - Josef also introduced the first Viennese performances of three other works written by him for that year's Pavlovsk concerts: Ohne Sorgen! Polka schnell op. 271, Frohes Leben, Walzer op. 272 and En passant, Polka française op. 273.