"Pages From Remembrances Past or Mementoes". The Gedenkblätter waltz, which was also announced under the name Memento, was composed for the 1865 students' ball and was performed for the first time at this event on 20 February in the Redoutensaal. In this waltz Josef incorporated references to student songs: the song "Stimmt an mit hellen, hohen Klang, stimmt an das Lied der Lieder" by Matthias Claudius resounds in the introduction, and in waltz no. 5 it is the folk tune "Krambambuli, so heisst der Titel" by Ch. F. Wedekind, that inspired Josef Strauss. As a result of his overexertion, a congenital brain-related condition worsened, so that Pepi suddenly collapsed at his home and was forced to lay down his violin and baton for some time. According to the report on the students' ball in the Fremden-Blatt on 22 February 1865, Johann Strauss had to replace his brother at the premiere of the Gedenkblätter waltz in the Redoutensaal. After a short vacation in the summer, Josef again resumed the full load of his stressful activities. This work earned more recognition than had been accorded to him in previous years.
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Painting: La récompense
Artist: Ferdinand de Braekeleer
Date: 1869
Razumovsky Symphony Ochestra
Alfred Eschwé
