Radetzky March

Radetzky March, Op. 228, is a march composed by Johann Strauss Sr. in 1848. It was dedicated to the Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, and became quite a popular march among soldiers.

When it was first played, in front of Austrian officers in attendance, they promptly clapped and stomped their feet when they heard the chorus. This tradition is carried over today when the march is played in classical music venues in Vienna, among members of the audience who are familiar with the tradition. It is almost always played as the last piece of music at the Neujahrskonzert, the Vienna New Year Concert.

Despite its military nature, its tone is rather festive than martial. This is because the Field Marshal could have executed the son of Strauss who served in the army, but chose not to. The march is thus more of a piece by a thankful father to the savior of his son than a march about a military man. It is usually played in under three minutes.

Radetzky March consists of three main parts:

• The introduction: The whole orchestra plays here and the brass section plays the melody.
• The first figure: This is 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: This is played by the brass section and the trumpet plays three triplets in the last bars of the trio.
• Figure five: The whole orchestra plays here.
• Figure six: The whole orchestra plays here and then repeats back to figure 5.
• The orchestra plays on the last bar.
• They go back to the D.C. (beginning).
• They play until figure three; and the piece finishes with the Fine ("end") bar—i.e., the direction is Da capo al fine (repeat from beginning up to the word fine).

The Swedish department store chain Åhléns traditionally played the Radetzky March on a loop beginning about ten minutes before closing time to remind customers to complete their selections and head for the tills. This has resulted in an almost Pavlovian reaction amongst a certain generation of Swedes to look about for an exit when they hear this piece played.

Since 1899 it 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 adopted the Radetzky March as its regimental quick march.

References

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

External links

• "Radetzky March" Complete orchestral score: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• "Radetzkymarsch" (mp3pro, 1.24 MB). [1] Liedertafel. http://www.liedertafel.claranet.de/radetzky.mp3. 
• Alter Tanz aus Wien, a Radetzkymarsch trio adaptation (sheet music)
• "Radetzky Marsch, Neujahrskonzert 2009, conducted by Daniel Barenboim". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ll9bZXgj3A.