Die Emancipirte (The Emancipated) Polka-Mazurka, Op.282

Joseph Strauss (1827-1870)

Die Emancipirte (The Emancipated) Polka-Mazurka, Op.282

The mazurka did, on the other hand, survive as an element in the curious hybrid developed by the second generation of Strausses, the polka-mazurka, which combines the steps of the duple-time polka with the triple-time metre of the mazurka. Slower than the waltz, it is also less ambitious in construction and is designed, like the ordinary polka, with matching outer sections and a contrasting middle section. The expert in this particular field was Josef Strauss, who wrote several charming, rhythmically and harmonically sensitive examples, often finding his inspiration in nature, as in Die Lachtaube (The Ringdove) or Die Libelle (The Dragonfly). Die Emancipirte, the last polka-mazurka he completed before his early death, is rather different from the others in that it seems to have some satirical intent. Whatever the meaning of the title - its precise significance is lost somewhere in Viennese social history - it presents a melodically emancipated middle section between teasingly tuneful outer sections.