The menu of ‘Strauss A La Carte’ is a gourmet’s delight of tasty fare to tempt and satisfy any musical palate. They are bright, gay confections, topped with the whipped cream of romantic Viennese sentiment, yet light and airy in character. In short, they represent the Strauss’s unique talents for creating music of geniality, good cheer and brilliant instrumentation. For, from this endless stream of waltzes, polkas and galops came the authentic flavor of the Imperial City’s ballrooms, parks, cafes, beer halls and streets – melodies that once set crowds to leaping, whirling and dancing, that enchant even today, and will always continue to enrapture listeners. Most of the courses served up herein are from the pen of ‘The Waltz King,’ Johann Strauss II, some are by his brother, Josef, and one, the prickling Pizzicato Polka, is a joint effort, one of four which the two brothes wrote together. From Johann’s prodigious array of nearly 500 selections, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra offers the vivacious Vergnügungsz