Unlike the music of the most prominent Viennese composers of that time (just remember the names of Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler), the ballroom dance had no aim of being considered as superior art. Along the years its perception has changed and now it can be rightfully considered as authentic concert music. Moreover, it is one of the biggest symbols of the charming atmosphere of the court of Emperor Franz Joseph as significant as the symbol of the Emperor’s legendary wife, the Empress Elizabeth of Wittelsbach (Sissi).

Although the current great interest in this music is so closely associated with a whole era and with a very specific trend, which is so far from us, no New Year celebration could be considered complete without it nowadays. The Great Johann Strauss Gala, the classic one, has been irremediably associated with toasts and fireworks, as well as unforgettable waltzes, such as Blue Danube Waltz, Fairytales of the Viennese Woods, The Emperor’s Waltz and Radetzky March that traditionally close the concerts accompanied by the enthusiastic applauses of the audience.