Charivari

Charivari is a composition for orchestra by HK Gruber. It is based on a polka by Johann Strauss II, Perpetuum mobile, Op. 257. Charivari was completed in 1981. Composition Charivari was initially thought as an orchestral showpiece based on the main motifs of the polka Perpetuum mobile by Johann Strauss II. Because of this strong association, even though it is not included in the score, the Strauss polka is always played attacca before Charivari, as the composition's first bars are very similar to the Perpetuum mobile ending. For this reason, the composition is also sometimes known as Perpetuum mobile/Charivari. The composition has been subtitled "An Austrian Journal for Orchestra" by Gruber himself. According to the composer: The composition is dedicated to Barrie Gavin and was finished in Vienna on 7 December 1981. It was premiered by the London Sinfonietta conducted by Simon Rattle at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, in London, on 23 August 1983. However, Gruber decided to make a revised version of the composition later that year. The revised version was premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ivan Fischer in Vienna, on 22 January 1984. The initial version was published by Boosey and Hawkes in 1981, and the revised version followed in 1984.