My orchestration from a hand written piano score of this unpublished waltz by Ziehrer. The score was kindly provided by the Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain.

The waltz was written during Ziehrer’s sojourn at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. It is notable for the little ragtime introduction – a very early appearance of the form which was just starting to make its appearance on the world’s stage. I do wonder what Ziehrer’s orchestra made of it. You can almost hear the sigh of relief when the waltz starts.

The rag apart, there’s some typical Ziehrer élan here. Is this the beginning of the end for the waltz as the most popular dance form?

The background noise over the introduction is the sound of at least one fish out of water.