Wein, Weib und Gesang

Wein, Weib und Gesang (Wine, women and Song) op. 333 is a waltz by Johann Strauss II. It is a choral waltz in its original form although it is seldom heard in this version today and it was commissioned for the Vienna Men's Choral Association's so-called Fools' Evening on 2 February 1869 with a dedication to the Association's honorary chorus-master Johann Herbeck. Its fanciful title was drawn from an old adage, "Who loves not wine, women and song; remains a fool his whole life long".

Related Topics:
Waltz - Johann Strauss II - Johann Herbeck

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Johann Strauss II's works at this age displays the Waltz King at the height of his creative powers and it was no less evident in this waltz with its 137-bar Introduction, combining tranquil melodies with superb orchestration. Its admirers include the famous opera composer, Richard Wagner and Strauss' good friend Johannes Brahms.

Related Topics:
Johann Strauss II - Waltz - Opera - Composer - Richard Wagner - Johannes Brahms

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The waltz's primary home key is in E-flat major with its Introduction interpolating with B-flat major as well as B major. The first waltz melody, with its tapping quality is quintessentially Viennese in nature. Further waltz themes alternate between lush passion and good-humored cheekiness, ending with a swirling finish in the principal home key underlined by a brass fanfare and snare drumroll, as is the usual style of concluding a piece in Strauss' works dating around that period.

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Besides being a waltz, it also a German expression indicating the having of fun.

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