Frühlingsstimmen, op. 410

Frühlingsstimmen was written in 1882 as a concert waltz with a solo soprano part, for Bertha Schwarz, who sang under the name Bianca Bianchi at the Vienna Court Opera; Richard Genée supplied the text. The first performance took place on 1 March 1883 at the Theater an der Wien, at a benefit evening, and made little impression in Vienna. The waltz found its audience abroad, in Russia in particular, and the purely orchestral version soon overtook the vocal original in currency. Its coloratura writing has kept it in the repertoire of concert sopranos.