Eduard Strauss
Strauss' audiences in Vienna first heard the work when his brother Eduard Strauss conducted it at one of his concerts in the Musikverein on 16 November 1879. The waltz's slow introduction suggests a calm sea scene, while swirling waves are captured in later themes. The coda incorporates the 'sea storm' scene, with furious chords and fierce brass instruments suggesting the North Sea at the time of a severe gale. The first waltz theme is re-introduced before the work ends in a brilliant finish.