Feuerfest

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Piano — Feuerfest (Fireproof) was written by Josef Strauss, son of Johann Strauss, famous for his memorable waltzes. Young Josef was asked by Franz Wertheim, owner of the Wertheim Safe Company of Vienna, to compose a piece recognizing the completion of the company’s 20,000th safe, considered the finest safe in all of Europe. The titleof the piece, Feuerfest, comes from what Wertheim considered the most important benefit of his safes; that they were fireproof! Feuerfest was written to commemorate the sale of a fireproof safe for a famous Vienna safe company. The piece has a distinctive Austrian flare like that of more famous marches like the Radetzky March, but is much more playable for young orchestras. Carl Strommen has set this polka for use in festival performance. It will be a refreshing change for any concert.