Whether as table music or open-air entertainment, Harmoniemusik was a staple of guest amusement in Viennese aristocratic households—and elsewhere in Europe—throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Small woodwind and brass ensembles would typically perform well-known operatic melodies in specially arranged versions.
To mark the revival of the classic Der Rosenkavalier, members of the Volksoper orchestra devote themselves to this distinctive genre, wandering through works by R. Strauss, L. van Beethoven, and others.