Johann Strauss, Jr.: Früehlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Op. 410. This set of waltzes started life as a vocal number, but while the vocal-waltz tradition has all but disappeared outside of Vienna, the instrumental version of this waltz flourishes.  This tune was the favorite vehicle for virtuoso whistler Baron Jean.
Josef Strauss: Frauenherz (A Woman’s Heart) Polka-Mazurka, Op. 166. Johann’s brother Josef made his living as a civil engineer, but when Johann collapsed from overwork, Josef—like all the Strausses, he had extensive musical training—stepped in and led the orchestra with aplomb and eventually joined the family business. Though far less known, he may actually have been a better composer than his brother. While lacking the sheer effervescence of Johann’s scores, this piece more than makes up for it, in subtlety and expressive depth.
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Tritsch-Trasch (Chit-Chat) Polka, Op. 214. Johann Jr. may have composed this whirlwind for one of his frequent trips to Russia he made with his orchestra. It is full of relentless energy and boundless good cheer.
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Annen-Polka, Op. 117. This is an early work by Johann Jr., and one of the first to put him on the musical map. Slower than other polkas, this one ends with a twist: when the opening music returns at the end, it is stopped short of completion by a brand new and rather bombastic ending.
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Wein, Weib, und Gesang (Wine, Women, and Song) Waltzes, Op. 333. Johann Jr. composed this set of waltzes—again, originally for voice —in 1869 for the Vienna Men’s Chorus Association, the same group that had received his Blue Danube Waltzes. It begins with a stately march, then launches into a variety of waltz tunes. The alert listener may notice that the introduction presages the final waltz, one of many sophisticated compositional touches in this piece.
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Éljen a Magyár (Hail to Hungary!) Polka, Op. 332. Composed for performance at the Imperial court, this polka has what European audiences took to be a Hungarian flavor, even though it was accomplished with Viennese means! To Strauss’ audience, anything east of Austria was exotically Eastern, so the cymbals alone might have done the job. This is a sprightly work, and over in the blink of an eye.
Johann Strauss, Jr. & Josef Strauss: Pizzicato-Polka, Op. 464. For their joint trip to Russia, Johann tried to convince his more recalcitrant brother, Josef, to compose an all pizzicato number. When Josef showed his reluctance, Johann proposed that they compose it together. And a good thing, too, for it caused a sensation and had to be repeated eight times at the first performance!
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Ägyptischer (Egyptian) March, Op. 335. Johann Jr. composed this in 1869 for the future opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt, and it proved popular with his European audiences as well. He added several faux Middle Eastern touches in the music, none of which were particularly authentic, but great fun all the same.
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Unter Donner und Blitz (Thunder and Lightning), Polka-Schnell, Op. 324
No one could accuse Johann Jr. of lacking a musical sense of humor, something that pervades his Thunder and Lightning polka, composed in 1868. Timpani are the thunder and cymbal crashes are the lightning in this joyous, nearly over-the-top example of why this music is both timeless and downright fun.