Josef Strauss (1827-1870) was an Austrian composer, son of Johann Strauss ('Vater') and brother of Johann jr. and Eduard. Josef joined the 'Strauss' family orchestra, along with his brothers Johann and Eduard in the 1850s. When Johann became seriously ill in 1853 Josef led the orchestra for a while. The waltz-loving Viennese people were appreciative of his early compositions so he decided to continue in the family tradition of composing dance music. He wrote 283 opus numbers amongst them waltzes (Sphären-Klänge), Polkas, Quadrilles and other dance music. One of his last compositions is Plappermäulchen, Polka schnell; a wonderful character piece! One can almost see the faces of the chatterboxes as they share the latest gossip - everyone eager to share their insight and embellishing the details. And the oboe 'getting the last word' is beyond clever.