"Petitions". Until 1863, Johann Strauss was responsible for dedicating the musical works to the patrons of the traditional society balls which were regularly held in Vienna; the new "Waltz King" therefore promptly supplied the compositions expected of him for the carnival festivities of the physicians, lawyers and engineers in that city. During the carnival of 1863, his brother Josef had to help out, since Johann Strauss had been forbidden to compose by his doctors, as it was deemed "too exhausting." In 1864, it was expected that Josef would supply the compositions commissioned by the various professional groups which attended the society balls. "Pepi" thus w rote the waltz for the lawyers' ball, which took place on 18 January 1864, in the Sofiensaal. The title of the work, which was dedicated to the students of law at the University of Vienna, must have been well-received by the attending lawyers, since they were doubtlessly experts in filing petitions - in court. As contemporary sources reveal, Josef Strauss's musical "Petitions" was very well-received. The lawyers readily accepted Josef as the successor to his brother. The piano scores of the work were distributed by Spine Verlag on 8 January and were, therefore, already available to the guests at the ball, even though the sale was originally scheduled to be announced on 2 March 1864.

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Painting: Speech the Defense
Artist: Jean Louis Forain
Date: 1907

Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Alfred Walter