Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II, born in Vienna in 1825, was the most celebrated member of a whole dynasty of dance composers and remains, more than any other figure, the musical embodiment of imperial Vienna. His father, Johann Strauss I, forbade him a musical career, hoping to spare him a precarious life; the boy studied the violin in secret and in 1844 made his debut at the head of his own orchestra. He soon eclipsed his father and his brothers Josef and Eduard, touring Europe, Russia, and the United States, and earning the title ‘the Waltz King.’ Over a long career he produced some five hundred waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and marches, raising the Viennese waltz to a peak of melodic richness and orchestral colour, and turning to the operetta stage with Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron. His An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube) is often called Austria’s unofficial anthem. He died in 1899, and his music has formed the heart of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert ever since.