Annen-Polka, op. 117

Strauss wrote the Annen-Polka in 1852, taking its name from the Annenfest, the July name-day festivities held in Vienna's suburban pleasure gardens where his orchestra played through the summer. It is a French polka rather than a quick one — moderate in tempo, built on a lilting alternation between strings and woodwind, with a trio that stays deliberately light. The piece belongs to the years when Strauss was still consolidating his father's audience after taking over the family orchestra, and it has remained among the most frequently played of his early dance numbers.