Some pieces are well-named and this polka, the Furioso-Polka, is surely among them. It is furious, to be sure, but good naturedly so, its swift pacing and hurried manner serving Strauss' deft sense of humor well. At about two-and-a-half minutes, it is a short work even for the generally short-winded Strauss. It is full of brilliant instrumental touches and cavorts a festive sense of great vigor, with colorful percussion, driving rhythms, and a carefree manner that borders on a sort of free-for-all. The work opens with a very brief rhythmic limbering up, after which follows the raucous, lively main theme whose character is more concerned with menace than manners, with mayhem than decorum. The instrumentation is colorful, featuring many cymbal clashes and cartoon-like pratfalls from the winds. Indeed, it's easy to imagine cartoon characters in a chase or a cat-and-mouse game of hide and seek. The middle section begins in a relatively subdued mood, but quickly takes on the same rollicking character. The main theme returns in the latter half and the work closes amid a blaze of colorful orchestration.

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