Waldmeister overture

The value of the polka or the gallop in offsetting the elegance of the waltz is most effectively illustrated by the Overture to Johann II’s last-but-one operetta, Waldmeister, which was first performed at the Theater an der Wien in 1895. The story - about a Saxon village that falls victim to the intoxicating properties of a drink made from wine and woodruff (“Waldmeister” in German) - need not concern us. What is important is the hit number of the show, the waltz song Trau, schau, wem? (“Look before you leap”) that is also the main theme of the Overture, where it occurs over and over again. Although it is dressed in different orchestral colours on each occasion, to sustain its seductive attractions it also needs the contrasting duple-time tunes that replace it in the middle, just as it needs the concluding gallop to divert it from one too many star appearances.