Neue Pizzicato-Polka

The first Pizzicato Polka, written jointly by Johann II and his brother Josef for their Russian season in the Vauxhall Pavilion at Pavlosk in 1869, was so successful that it was bound to breed a sequel. Josef died a year later, however, and it was not until 1892 that Johann wrote a New Pizzicato Polka - for a concert series that his other brother, Eduard, was to give in Hamburg. No less charming if a little less witty than its predecessor, it has the added attraction of a middle section that mixes the sound of the glockenspiel with that of the plucked strings.