Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843­1922) gained distinction as successor to the Strausses as the very last holder of the official Habsburg position of Imperial and Royal Court Ball Music Director. He wrote very much in major keys‚ and his compositions lack the emotional and harmonic range of those of the Strausses. However‚ he was a fine melodist‚ and his music understandably holds a particular place in the affections of the Viennese. He was also prolific‚ and Marco Polo is wise to restrict this latest dance music series to selected – rather than complete – dances and marches. I briefly noted Volume 2 back in December 1998; but I think this newcomer is the best of the series to date. It is certainly the most generously filled‚ and in Christian Pollack it features one of the most persuasive of the conductors of Marco Polo’s Viennese collections. It also has perhaps the most attractive selection of compositions of the three CDs so far‚ beginning with the rousing Schönfeld­Marsch‚ one of Ziehrer’s most popular creations. The only disappointment is that Gebirgskinder – one of his finest waltzes‚ and one that features a zither solo after the manner of Johann Strauss’s Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald – has the zither replaced by harp. Of the unfamiliar works I particularly like the early waltz Auf hoher See (On the High Seas). The collection as a whole provides both an enjoyable representation of Ziehrer’s exhilarating art and an excellent advert for the series.