Strauss, Johann

Johann Strauss II, also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger, or the Son, was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas, as well as a violinist. He was born on October 25, 1825, in Vienna, Austrian Empire, and passed away on June 3, 1899, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He is best known for his over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as “The Waltz King” and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.

Some of Johann Strauss’s most famous works include “The Blue Danube,” “Kaiser-Walzer” (Emperor Waltz), “Tales from the Vienna Woods,” “Frühlingsstimmen,” and the “Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka.” Among his operettas, “Die Fledermaus” and “Der Zigeunerbaron” are the best known.

Strauss was the son of Johann Strauss I and his first wife, Maria Anna Streim. His two younger brothers, Josef and Eduard Strauss, also became composers of light music, although they were never as well known as their brother. Despite his father’s wishes for him to follow a nonmusical profession, Strauss Jr. studied the violin secretly as a child and eventually conducted his own dance band at a Viennese restaurant in 18442. After his father’s death in 1849, Johann combined his orchestra with his father’s and went on tours that included Russia and England, gaining great popularity.

In 1870, he relinquished leadership of his orchestra to his brothers to focus on composing. In 1872, he conducted concerts in New York City and Boston. Strauss’s most famous single composition is “An der schönen blauen Donau” (1867; The Blue Danube), the main theme of which became one of the best-known tunes in 19th-century music2. His stage works, especially “Die Fledermaus” (1874; The Bat) and “Der Zigeunerbaron” (1885; The Gypsy Baron), became classical examples of Viennese operetta.

Strauss married three times and had a tumultuous personal life, which often reflected in his work. His legacy continues to influence music and culture, with his compositions still widely performed and celebrated around the world.