Simone Kopmajer - Very Strauss (2025) [Hi-Res]

In 2025, the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II – the composer who set Vienna dancing and whose melodies have long since become part of the city's soul. For two centuries, his name has stood for elegance, romance, and rhythm. But what happens when this timeless beauty speaks the language of modern jazz?

A voice like Simone Kopmajer's knows the answer. With unmistakable warmth and effortless phrasing, she takes Strauss from the 19th-century ballroom and brings him to a contemporary jazz club – where chandeliers give way to soft light and the rustle of silk blends into the delicate play of drum brushes.

The waltz becomes conversation.
The "Tipsy Song" brings laughter in 6/8 time.
And "Roses from the South" swing.

Each piece on this album is both homage and transformation. Simone doesn't imitate, she translates. Her English lyrics preserve Strauss's romanticism and tenderness, but add modern soul and intimacy. The arrangements shine with delicate harmonies, carried by walking bass and gentle grooves – a soundscape poised between nostalgia and curiosity.

On the bicentenary of Johann Strauss II's birth, this project connects centuries and styles – Vienna in the sound of jazz: where time dissolves and melody begins to dance anew.

The artist has invited Marika Lichter and Norbert Schneider as guests to join her in duets, paying tribute to the Waltz King in a new guise.

Close your eyes.

Imagine the city at night.

And let Simone To guide Kopmajer's voice through a new Vienna – graceful, bold, and timeless.

Kopmajer: "The idea for a Strauss project was born two years ago, but we wanted to use the anniversary year as an opportunity and are releasing the songs gradually this year." How did these swinging versions come about? The accomplished pianist and arranger Geri Schuller has wrapped the originals in new harmonies and rhythms; the melodies themselves remain unchanged, but are now sung by Kopmajer. For this purpose, violinist Emily Stewart wrote English lyrics: "These words relate to the original music, but at the same time tell a new story," says Kopmajer, who finds the combination of Strauss and swing to be extremely harmonious.