Velocipede, from the Latin ‘velox’ = ‘quick’ and ‘pes’ = ‘foot’, was the name given in the nineteenth century to the bicycle, that is to say a land vehicle with two wheels placed one behind the other and propelled by muscle power. Sometime in the mid-1860s the pedal drive was invented and attached directly to the large front wheel. These early bicycles with their high wheels demanded considerable skill on the part of the cyclist. Although there was no lack of falls — in fact they became more or less the order of the day, this new means of transport was very popular with the Viennese and spread rapidly. There were even places where velocipedes could be hired, as well as the possibility to take lessons to learn how to ride them, while competitions and races were also organised. Josef Strauss responded to this new trend by, it seems, quickly giving a new quick polka he had just composed the title Vélocipède. Unfortunately no exact date for its first performance is known. The music publishing house of Carl Anton Spina in Vienna brought out an arrangement for piano solo and the orchestral parts in the summer/autumn of 1869.
Josef Strauss : Vélocipède / Polka schnell op. 259 © by WJSO-Archive
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