Composers › Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
The “Waltz King”: with his orchestra he made Vienna and the whole world dance.
Life
He was born in Vienna, the son of Johann Strauss I, already a famous waltz composer. His father did not want him to become a musician, but he studied the violin in secret.
In 1844, aged nineteen, he made his debut with his own orchestra and soon outshone his father's fame. He conducted concerts all over Europe and even in the United States.
He wrote about 500 pieces, waltzes, polkas and marches, as well as operettas such as Die Fledermaus (1874).
Portrait: Fritz Luckhardt, public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
Curiosities
- The Blue Danube (1867) began as a piece for male choir; in its orchestral version it has become almost a second Austrian national anthem.
- It is the traditional encore of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, broadcast every year all over the world.
- His brothers Josef and Eduard were composers and conductors too: a true waltz dynasty.
At the piano
- The waltz has three beats: a bass note on the first and two light chords on the second and third.
- Let the melody “sway”, as if dancing: small waits before the important notes.
- The left hand must never cover the right.
Pieces to learn 1 piece
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