The Wilde Gung’l is an amateur orchestra founded more than 130 years ago by singers in Munich glee clubs who also happened to be gifted instrumentalists. They imitated the style of Josef Gung’l, a popular Hungaro-German orchestra leader whose waltzes and polkas were the rage, so they eventually became known as the Wilde Gung’l to differentiate them from their professional counterpart. Franz Strauss, Richard’s father, became this organization’s conductor in 1875. The orchestra naturally became a training ground for the young boy, and the compositions on this CD date from the time in which he was associated with this group. Most of them are student compositions and sound like someone else’s work.
The trio of the Scherzo from the G major Serenade, for instance, is an almost direct paraphrase of the lovely horn section passage near the beginning of Rossini’s overture to Semiramide. The craftsmanship, however, is outstanding for a teenager! The first composition to indicate the true genius of young Richard was the Op. 7 Serenade for 13 Winds, written when he was but 18. Don Juan was just down the road and shortly after its composition and premiere, Strauss paid his dues to his training orchestra by writing the Festival March in C for the group. The Wilde Gung’l today sounds anything but amateur, and Jaroslav Opela guides it in thoroughly professional and idiomatic performances of this early fare. The recorded sound is rich and full, with good definition.
