Stürmisch in Lieb' op393

Johann Strauss II

Stürmisch in Lieb’ und Tanz (Tempestuous in Love and Dance) Polka schnell, Op.393

Like the famous waltz Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South) the rather less familiar quick polka Stürmisch in Lieb’ und Tanz comes from Johann II’s otherwise almost forgotten operetta Das Spitzentuch der Königin (The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief) which was first performed at the Theater an der Wien in 1880. Equipped with a promising new title, Stürmish in Lieb’ und Tanz made its debut as a polka in its own right in the Sofienbad-Saal a year later, when its hectic, even uproarious tunefulness no doubt proved as irresistible as anything written for the ballroomin the first place.