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Johann Strauss II
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Johann Strauss II · Johann Strauss the Younger founded his own dance orchestra in Vienna in 1844 and, like his father, became known as the Waltz King. He wrote hundreds of dances and turned the waltz into an extended concert form, with an introduction, a series of waltzes and a coda. An der schönen blauen Donau from 1867 grew into an unofficial national anthem of Austria. With Die Fledermaus from 1874 he wrote the best-known Viennese operetta.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the beginning of An der schönen blauen Donau and hear how the long introduction with tremolo strings slowly works towards the first waltz.
An der schönen blauen Donau (Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester, Willi Boskovsky) · Johann Strauss II, 1867
Die Fledermaus: Ouverture (Wiener Philharmoniker, Carlos Kleiber) · Johann Strauss II, 1874
Kaiser-Walzer (Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm) · Johann Strauss II, 1889- An der schönen blauen Donau · Johann Strauss II, 1867Apple Music ↗
Mentioned in other articles
- Operetta and the waltz Genre
In Vienna the waltz king Johann Strauss II wrote Die Fledermaus in 1874, and in 1905 Franz Lehár made a worldwide success with Die lustige Witwe.