In spite of ill-health, Josef Strauss joined his elder brother, the younger Johann Strauss as a major purveyor of light Viennese music. In addition to superior craftsmanship, shown in the more balanced and concentrated form of his waltzes, and a generally greater ingenuity in both harmonic and melodic invention, there is true poetry and a pessimistic romantic touch about Josef’s music, reminiscent of Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner. This, the last volume of the Josef Strauss Edition, focusses on the earliest days of his career, with works being expertly arranged form the surviving parts by the conductor of this recording, Christian Pollack.