"Musik à la Schrarnmel" played in Vienna where the Schrammel brothers - Johann (1850-1893) and Josef (1852-1895), two violinists from the second half of the nineteenth century - performed together with George Dänzer, a virtuoso of the G clarinet, and Anton Strohmayer, a contra-guitarist. Johann Schrammel, whose father was a clarinetist and whose mother was a folksinger, was formally educated at the conservatory, specializing in violin and ethnomusicology. He founded an instrumental ensemble, half classic (two violins) and half folk, G clarinet and contra-guitar, creating a unique genre of instrumental music drawing on Vienna's wealth of folk music for inspiration.

Like the music of Strauss, that of Schrammel was immersed in traditional forms of dance, the waltz, the polka, and the Ländler. While the waltzes of Strauss became more and more difficult to dance to - because of their character akin to the symphonic poem (i.e. The Emperor Waltz) - the Schrammel's music was not used for dancing, but rather as a vehicle to express profound emotions - unique to Vienna, simple, but worthy masterpieces. For thirteen years the Schrammels enjoyed enormous popularity in Vienna before conquering Europe and being invited to perform at the international Exposition of Chicago in 1893. Vienna's great composers, Johann Strauss and Johannes Brahms, were fervent admirers of the "Schrammels". Hans Richter, director of the Vienna Philharmonic, invited his orchestra to an evening of "Schrammelmusik", stating that one cannot offer them better.

The "genre" Schrammel, undoubtedly recognized as important by Vienna's greatest composers, is difficult to describe and explain in words. It has been passed down to us by generations of performers and cannot be given justice without a scrupulous examination of the traditions which transcend the limitations of musical notations. As with Baroque Music, which has undergone unimaginable changes in the past 20 years, it is not sufficient to simply read a score without having a profound knowledge of the performance practices of the times. In Vienna, one can hear "Schrammelmusik" in the Heurigen at Grinzing (where one tastes the new wines) or discover rare concerts by traditional Schrammel ensembles, founded with musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic and other orchestras which devote themselves to perpetuating the traditions and the authentic style.