Johann Strauss, jr., waltz introductions

As a follow-up to the series of examples from Wagner and the post on the Franck violin sonata, I have decided to start a series on music by other composers from roughly 1880-1900, starting with late waltzes by Johann Strauss, jr. From the nineteen sets between opus 400 and 409, I chose ten:

Op.407 - Italienischer Walzer
Op.410 - Frühlingsstimmen, Walzer
Op.423 - Wiener Frauen, Walzer
Op.424 - Adelen-Walzer
Op.437 - Kaiser-Walzer
Op.438 - Rathausball-Tänze, Walzer
Op.440 - Groß-Wien, Walzer
Op.453 - Hochzeitsreigen, Walzer
Op.461 - Gartenlaube, Walzer
Op.477 - An der Elbe, Walzer

My notion—I suppose we can call it a hypothesis—was that the late sets might well make more of complex harmonies and progressions in their introductions than was the case in earlier sets. The survey did not turn out as I expected: the introductions do not differ in any substantial way from those in earlier sets and, in particular for my purposes, they do not feature the dominant ninth harmony except in their presaging quotations from the waltzes themselves. (There is one exception—see op. 407 below—but even there the musical topic is a waltz acceleration.)

Of the introductions in the ten sets, three have moments in which the ninth chord does appear, although only the first of these is convincing as a dramatic treatment. In op. 407, the first 20 bars quote an Andantino grazioso tune from the operetta (the set uses themes and motives from Der Lustige Krieg), after which a stereotypical acceleration suggests a rush to the close, but it cuts off at the seventh bar in the second system and an equally stereotypical anticlimax brings the introduction to a close with heightened anticipation of the first waltz. The acceleration gives considerable attention to C: V9 (boxed) then "converts" it to V7. There are hints of ^6 above G: V9 (circled), but then at the end an exaggerated operatic "hand-lifting" pause on C: V9, which again resolves internally. The motives in this section do not reappear in the waltzes themselves.

True to its title, the introduction to op. 438 consists mostly of a march, but it ends with the following transitional passage. Although the circled D: V9 is clear, it is very obviously just one element in the stepwise, then arpeggiated, ascent. Here again the motives do not reappear in the waltzes.

The introduction to op. 477, Strauss's last published waltz set, consists of three pastoral segments of 10-20 bars and a waltz section. Here is the third pastoral section, with the transition into it. The very familiar play of ^5-^6 with dominant and tonic, sometimes resulting in clear expressions of V9 and Iadd6, is employed here, though it sits above a tonic pedal in this case.

In earlier sets, Strauss would often anticipate one (or more) of the waltz melodies in the introduction. For the late sets, it of course is not surprising that he might quote from an operetta that the set is based on, but for the others I wouldn't be surprised to be told he is quoting from earlier works of his own (if so, no doubt a combination of nostalgia and marketing). Tune-hunting (for that matter, tune-remembering), however, is not a strength of mine, and in retirement I do not have reference sources handy. I apologize for not looking into this further, but honestly it would make little if any difference to this survey of the appearance and uses of major dominant ninth chords.