In the fall of 1854, an outbreak of cholera swept through Vienna. While the city struggled toward recovery, events outside the city were equally dire. Austria had allied itself with England and France in their efforts against Russia in the Crimea, causing the Tsar to issue angry proclamations against the Austrian monarch. During this troubled time, the cultural life of the city of Vienna was not its usual vibrant self. Entertainment hotspots that were usually filled to capacity were sadly underpopulated in the latter half of the year, and musical and other cultural events received little fanfare.

So it was with the Nachtfalter (Moth) waltz, composed by Johann Strauss II for a festival ball in August, a gala event that took place in the popular Unger Casino in the Viennese suburb of Hernals. The composer expected the comparatively lengthy waltz (it runs just under ten minutes) to be a hit and was somewhat disappointed in its lukewarm reception, though he certainly was aware of the domestic and international circumstances surrounding its premiere. However, the waltz gained immense popularity two years later when Johann II performed it in Russia as part of his first concert season in Pavlovsk, and its fame spread quickly. Franz Liszt became particularly fond of the Nachtfalter waltz. At a festive event around this time, Liszt was reported to have been eager to perform a piano duet version of the waltz with his daughter Cosima.

The onomatopoetic elements of the Nachtfalter waltz are irresistible. Effectively, humorously, through a whirring in the strings, the work begins with the soft humming of moths' wings as the insects rise into the air; then, liltingly, the orchestration of the waltz itself recreates their fluttering, circling nocturnal flight.

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