Why Is Johann Strauss II Called the Waltz King? The Man Behind The Blue Danube

Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) is called "the Waltz King" because he wrote more than 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, marches and other dance pieces, including The Blue Danube, and turned the Viennese waltz into a worldwide sensation. He also wrote some of the most popular operettas ever, such as Die Fledermaus. Remarkably, he became a musician against the wishes of his own father, who was himself a famous composer of waltzes.

A father who said no

Strauss was born in Vienna on 25 October 1825, the son of Johann Strauss I, one of the city's most successful dance composers and bandleaders. You might expect the father to train his son as a successor. Instead, he wanted him to become a banker. Young Johann studied the violin in secret.

Debut and rivalry

In October 1844, at the age of 18, Strauss made his debut with his own orchestra at Dommayer's Casino in Hietzing, near Vienna. Vienna now had two Johann Strausses competing for audiences, and the press loved the rivalry between father and son. After his father's death in 1849, the son merged the two orchestras and became the leading figure of Vienna's dance music.

Politics and the court

Strauss was not always favoured by the authorities. During the revolutions of 1848 he sided with the revolutionaries, and this was one reason he was refused the post of music director for the court balls several times. He finally received it in 1863.

On tour: from Russia to America

Strauss travelled widely. From 1856 to 1865 he spent summers performing in Russia, and in 1872 he toured the United States. In America he conducted at a huge music festival in Boston with an enormous orchestra and chorus, an early example of the mass-celebrity concert.

The Blue Danube

His most famous work, The Blue Danube, was composed in 1867. It was first performed with a choir singing words, but it was the purely orchestral version that became a hit, helped by performances at the Paris World's Fair that same year. Today it is so closely linked to Austria that it is often called the country's unofficial anthem, and it is played every year at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert.

Many listeners know it from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, where it accompanies spacecraft gliding through space.

Waltzes, polkas and operettas

Strauss's other famous waltzes include Tales from the Vienna Woods and the Emperor Waltz. He also conquered the theatre: his operettas Die Fledermaus (The Bat) and Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron) remain popular, and Die Fledermaus is still a favourite on stage around New Year.

A friend of Brahms

Strauss's music was admired by serious composers too. Johannes Brahms was a close friend, and Strauss dedicated a waltz to him. When Strauss's wife Adele asked Brahms for an autograph, he wrote out a few bars of The Blue Danube and added: "Unfortunately NOT by Johannes Brahms." It is one of the most charming compliments in music history.

Last years

Strauss married three times, and his third wife, Adele, encouraged his creative work in later life. He died on 3 June 1899 of pleuropneumonia, while working on a ballet. His music still sets the mood every time Vienna dances into a new year.

Learn with Strauss: English phrases about music and dance

Phrase	Meaning	Example
to call the tune	to be in control	In this team, she calls the tune.
to face the music	to accept the consequences	He finally had to face the music.
in full swing	at the busiest, liveliest point	The party was in full swing.
to waltz through something	to do something easily	She waltzed through the exam.
music to my ears	very welcome news	A day off? That's music to my ears.

Try this: Play The Blue Danube and write three English sentences about a celebration you love, using "in full swing" and "music to my ears".