Composers › Johann Strauss II › Programme note
Freikugeln polka op326
Johann Strauss II
Freikugeln (Magic Bullets) Polka schnell, Op.326
The Strauss brothers were frequently called upon to provide music for entertainment associated with special Viennese events - like national and corporate celebrations, student festivities, public holidays, sports meetings - for which they would always think of something appropriate. The many international competitors who attended the German Federal Shooting Contest in the Prater in July 1868 must surely have enjoyed not only the explosive sound of Johann II’s Freikugeln (Magic Bullets) Polka, its percussive shots heightened by a sparky piccolo, but also its breathtaking succession of briskly diverting tunes.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Freikugeln polka op326”