Oscar Straus (1907): "Ein Walzertraum", Viennese waltz

[Martin Jonas]

Oscar Straus (1870-1954): Ein Walzertraum (A Waltz Dream)
Mandolin arrangement by Luigi Canoro, c. 1920
Published by Di Bella Music, New York

Oscar Straus was a Viennese composer of operettas and cabaret songs -- his name was actually "Strauss", but he dropped the final letter to avoid confusion with Johann Strauss. "Ein Walzertraum", written in 1907, is his best-known operetta and made him famous in Europe and America., where he later worked as a film composer.

My recording is based on an arrangement of the most popular tunes from the operetta (mainly the waltz duet "Da draussen im duftigen Garten / Leise, ganz leise klingt's durch den Raum") for two mandolins and guitar, intended for the Italian-American dance bands of the day. I'm playing it at dance tempo, slightly faster than most vocal performances. To fill out the sound, I've extracted a mandocello part from the guitar bassline.

The score is from Sheri's Di Bella Dropbox folder, attached here for easy reference.

1890s Umberto Ceccherini mandolin
Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
Vintage Viaten tenor guitar
Suzuki MC-815 mandocello



Martin