Johann Strauss II (the son)
Johann
Strauss II was born in Vienna,
Austria
in 1825, and died there in 1899. He is sometimes labelled Johann
junior, to distinguish him from his famous father
Johann
Strauss I. However, Johann junior is the most famous member of
the highly musical Strauss family. He is the "Waltz King", whose famous Viennese waltzes include
The Blue Danube, Voices of Spring, and Tales of the Vienna
Woods. He also wrote the operetta Die Fledermaus.
His father, Johann I (or Johann the elder) was a dance
orchestra director, and Johann Junior followed in his father's footsteps at the
age of 19 by forming his very own orchestra. For a while father and son
maintained rival orchestras in Vienna. After his father died, these
two orchestras amalgamated. He toured Europe, and wrote a great
many waltzes and other music. He was also a successful musical entrepreneur, and
became very rich, in contrast to the poor fate of many earlier Austrian
composers!
His melodic invention and orchestration skills
were superb, and today his music is heard in the concert hall instead of on the
dance floor.