Radetzky March

Cover sheet, 1848

Radetzky March, Op. 228, is a march composed by Johann Strauss Sr. and dedicated to Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. First performed on 31 August 1848 in Vienna, it soon became quite popular among regimented marching soldiers. It has been remarked that its tone is more celebratory than martial; Strauss was commissioned to write the piece to commemorate Radetzky's victory at the Battle of Custoza.

Origin

Field Marshal Radetzky, about 1850

Strauss had already used the famous theme in his Jubel-Quadrille, Op. 130; the upbeat bears considerable resemblance to the second theme from the Allegro in Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 100 composed in 1794. The striking rhythmic pattern—three anapaests, one iamb—has since then been popularised by numerous parody versions.

For the trio, Strauss used an older folk melody called Alter Tanz aus Wien or Tinerl-Lied (Tinerl was a popular Viennese songstress of the day) which was originally in 3/4 time. When Radetzky came back to Vienna after winning the battle of Custoza (1848), his soldiers were singing the then-popular song. Allegedly Strauss heard this singing and incorporated the melody, converted to 2/4 time, into the Radetzky March.^[1]

Reception

Along with the Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss Jr., the piece became an unofficial Austrian national anthem. In 1932 Joseph Roth published his famous novel Radetzky March, chronicling the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Up to today, the theme is used in numerous promotional jingles and at major sport events, in particular at football matches of the Austrian national team.

When it was first played in front of Austrian officers, they spontaneously clapped and stamped their feet when they heard the chorus. This tradition, with quiet rhythmic clapping on the first iteration of the melody, followed by thunderous clapping on the second, is kept alive today by audience members who know the custom when the march is played in classical music venues in an orchestral version prepared by Leopold Weninger (1879–1940). It is traditionally played as the last piece at the New Year's Concert (Neujahrskonzert) of the Vienna Philharmonic. In 2001, under conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the orchestra performed both the original and the convert version. The Philharmonics did not play the Radetzky March on 1 January 2005, because of overwhelming losses due to the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean a few days before.

Since 1896, this has been the official presentation march of the Chilean Army's Military School of the Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins. The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards of the United Kingdom adopted the Radetzky March as its regimental quick march.^[2] The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, whose practices and traditions are based on those of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, also use the Radetzky March as its regimental quick march.

Piece parts

	Radetzky March Johann Strauss I's "Radetzky March" arranged for the United States Marine Corps Band
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The Radetzky March consists of three main parts:

• The introduction: the whole orchestra plays and the brass section carries the melody.
• The first figure: played by the string section.
• At figure two: the whole orchestra plays until figure three, when it repeats back to the D.S. (first figure).
• The trio: played by the brass section, with the trumpet playing three triplets in the last bars.
• Figure five: the whole orchestra plays.
• Figure six: the whole orchestra plays and then repeats back to figure five.
• The orchestra plays until the last bar, then returns to the D.C. (beginning).
• The orchestra plays until figure three, finishing with the Fine ("end") bar—i.e., the direction is Da capo al fine (repeat from beginning up to the word Fine).

References

Bibliography

Jeroen H.C. Tempelman, "On the Radetzky March", Vienna Music, no. 99 (Summer 2000), pp. 12–13

External links

• "Radetzky March" Complete orchestral score: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• "Radetzkymarsch". Liedertafel. Archived from the original (mp3pro, 1.24 MB) on September 28, 2006.  External link in |publisher= (help)
• Alter Tanz aus Wien, a Radetzkymarsch trio adaptation (sheet music)
• "Radetzky Marsch, Neujahrskonzert 2009, conducted by Daniel Barenboim".