Le beau Monde

Le beau Monde ("Fashionable Society"), opus 199, is a quadrille composed by Johann Strauss II, written in 1857, while Strauss was conducting a tour of Russia with his orchestra. The work exudes the authentic musical flavour of Russia, and the St. Petersburg edition of the work describes the composition as a "Quadrille sur des airs Russes" ("Quadrilles on Russian Airs"). The title of the quadrille reflects the fashion then in Russia for the French language.