Johann Strauss, Sr. was born March 14, 1804 in Vienna, Austria to parents who were innkeepers. When he was twelve, his father was discovered to have drowned in the Danube, and Strauss's stepmother placed him as an apprentice to a bookbinder. During his apprenticeship, the young Strauss also took lessons in violin and viola, and also studied music with Johann Polischansky. In 1825, after having performed with various string quartets and other small orchestras, Strauss decided to start his own orchestra for which he composed music in the style of the Viennese waltzes and rustic German dances he had played with the Lanner Quartet. He quickly became one of the most popular dance composers in Vienna, touring with his band to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, and Scotland.
Johann Strauss, Sr. was father to three sons: Johann, Jr. (October 1825), Josef (August 1827), and Eduard (March 1835). The elder Strauss was also father to two daughters: Anna (1829) and Therese (1831), as well as a fourth son, Ferdinand (1834) who lived only ten months. Despite his own successful career as a musician, Johann Strauss, Sr.
tried to steer his sons toward careers in business, but they were irresistibly, inevitably drawn to music. He wished for Johann, Jr., the eldest, to pursue a career in banking, but as a child, Johann, Jr. secretly studied with the first violinist in his father's orchestra. When the elder Strauss found out, Johann, Jr. recalled "there was a violent and unpleasant scene." The first major appointment for the young composer was his award of the honorary position of "Kapellmeister of the 2nd Vienna Citizen's Regiment", which had been vacant for nearly two years prior. When his father died from scarlet fever in Vienna in 1849, Johann Strauss, Jr. merged their two orchestras, and continued to tour extensively. Eventually, he would outshine his father's reputation, becoming one of the most popular waltz composers of his era. Johann Strauss, Jr. composed over 500 pieces of dance music and more than a dozen operas and operettas. Of all the family, he possessed the highest gifts, and he was greatly admired by other composers of his time.
Josef Strauss worked as an engineer and designer before joining the Strauss family orchestra in the 1850s. His title of his first published work, "Die Ersten und Letzten" (The First and the Last), perhaps indicates the middle brother's reluctance to walk in the shadow of his famous brother. The public, however, was enamored of his work, and Josef subsequently composed over thirty waltzes and polkas, including the Pizzicato Polka in collaboration with his brother Johann, Jr.
The youngest brother, Eduard Strauss, like his brothers, began his career not as a musician, rather as a diplomat. He became a member the family's orchestra in 1855 as a harpist, and in 1862 joined his brothers as a full-fledged conductor. He was generally recognized as a conductor rather than a composer, and he was nearly always overshadowed by the popularity and achievements of his brothers. When his brother, Josef, died in 1870, Eduard assumed the management of the Strauss family orchestra - a charge which he carried out until he disbanded the orchestra in 1901. Eduard did not attempt to emulate his older brothers, but instead created his own musical style and placed his mark on the "quick polka." Like his brothers, his output was prolific, and includes over 300 separate works.
Though the Strauss family composed in many forms, including opera, they are best known for their waltzes and polkas. It was Johahnn, Jr.'s famous An der schönen blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), which began as a choral waltz with banal words, that established his title "waltz king." The waltz is a popular social dance in triple time that first began gaining popularity in Vienna in the 1780s. The origins are somewhat obscure, but the name is derived from the German verb walzen, meaning "roll." The term was one of many used to describe similar dances, usually in triple time, in which couples danced together in a close embrace. Most of these dances were categorized under the generic term Deutscher, or "German dance," and included the Dreher, Schleifer, or Spinner (indicating the nature of the dance), and the Steirer or Ländler (indicating the geographic origin)... The Strauss waltz in its mature form is more akin to a suite, consisting of a set of waltzes preceded by an introduction and followed by a coda. The opening and closing sections may be based on the waltz‑tunes themselves, or on related musical material..
Like the waltz, the origins of the polka are also vague, but music with similar characteristics appears around 1800. The form is believed to have originated with Bohemian village musicians and has roots in the folk music of Slovenia and Czechoslovakia. Its name may have been deriven from the Czech půlka (half) or polska- (Polish girl). The dance was introduced to Vienna in 1839 by a Bohemian regiment band, and then spread rapidly through Europe and even to the United States. Many variants of the dance form evolved, including the elegant polka française, the polka quadrille, the polka-mazurka and the lively Schnell-Polka (fast polka). The form became popularized, and by the mid-19th century, was one of the staples of military bands along with the waltz. By the end of the century, the polka repositioned itself as the Czech national dance.. The polka is characterized as a lively dance in duple meter, or 2/4 time. The polka of the 19th century generally has a 4-theme structure: themes A and B followed by a 'Trio' section of 2 additional themes. The 'Trio' usually has an 'Intrada' to form a break between the two sections.
Accelerationen Waltz ("Acceleration Waltzes") Op. 234 . . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
(Born October 25, 1825, in Vienna; died there June 3, 1899)
Strauss wrote the Acceleration Waltzes in 1860 on commission for a Technical Institute ball.
He took great pains to invent catchy and memorable titles he thought would help his compositions attain and hold popular attention. At a time of great technological advance, he named some of his works Dynamo, Flywheel, and Sound Waves, and the Acceleration Waltzes belong, of course, to this group. The introduction to this set of waltzes sounds like spinning wheels created by rapid violin tremolo, while the brass and low strings suggest the sound of a steam locomotive.
Moulinet Polka Op. 57 . . . Josef Strauss
(Born August 20, 1827 in Vienna; died July 22, 1870 in Vienna)
The Moulinet Polka is an example of the polka française, but there is nothing particularly French in its musical style; it displays Viennese atmosphere and the graceful Strauss-family style. Even though Josef's music is not as light and colorful as that of Johann, Jr., it is brilliantly orchestrated. This polka is a relatively early work and thus has less individuality than many of Josef's later compositions. It displays an energetic, bright opening supported by a tick-tock accompaniment and lively rhythm. The central part has colorful instrumentation, much energy, and a playful sense of humor. The main material is reprised in the final section before a fairly even-tempered coda.
Russian March-Fantasie. . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
By 1872, Johann Strauss Jr. had conducted eleven summer concert seasons in Pavlovsk, Russia. He had already written several new pieces for another season there when he was asked to be the conductor at the World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival in Boston. Persuaded by the promise of high fees and an interesting new experience, Johann accepted the offer, but the Russian festival filed a lawsuit against him for breach of contract.
This Russische Marche-Fantasie is one of the compositions Strauss, Jr. had completed for the upcoming Pavlovsk season. It is a charming, energetic piece, and it has a strong Russian character. It premiered in September 1872, in Vienna when Eduard Strauss, the youngest of the Strauss brothers, conducted it at a concert in the Viennese suburb of Hietzing.
Kunsterleben ("Artist's Life") Waltz, Op. 316 . . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
The titles that the Strausses gave to their dances were sometimes related in some way to the music of the pieces, or to the circumstances under which they were written or first performed. Others seem to be the product of fancy and invention, like the music itself. Künstlerleben ("Artist's Life") was originally composed for a chorus of male voices and orchestra, and its title was taken from the sung words, which are otherwise of no interest. Strauss conducted the purely orchestral version for the first time in 1867.
Furioso Galopp, Op.114. . . Johann Strauss, Sr.
The senior Strauss based the Furioso-Galopp on motifs from Franz Liszt. In November 1839, Liszt (1811-1886), returned to Vienna where had studied from 1823 to 1825, and where in 1838 had given a concert. By 1839 Liszt was a famous virtuoso, and his unrivalled showmanship as a pianist caused a sensation and sincere enthusiasm for his early compositions and his transcription. On December 8, 1839, Liszt heard the Strauss orchestra play the Furioso Galop, the first part of which is an effective orchestral arrangement of Liszt's own Grand Galop Chromatique for piano, composed in 1838.
The work's premiere was on November 25, 1839 at the Catherine Ball at the Sperl. It garnered a very successful reception for both the original creator of these melodies, Liszt, as well as for Strauss, who varied them so skillfully and tastefully. The work's popularity secured its place as a staple in the Strauss orchestra's repertoire.
Frühlingsstimmen ("Voices of Spring") Op. 410 . . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
Voices of Spring, is now most often heard as an orchestral work, but its original version it was a glorious song written for popular lyric coloratura soprano Bertha Schwarz, who performed under the stage name Bianca Bianchi (Italian for "White Whites"). Richard Genée (1823-1895), librettist of Die Fledermaus, provided for the text to accompany Strauss' music. The work was not a crowd-pleaser at its Theater an der Wien première, but it proved to be a great success when Strauss took it to Russia during an 1886 tour. Strauss later made a piano arrangement of the work that it became widely popular.
Voices of Spring opens with a short introduction, followed by the first waltz, which is characterized by an undulating melody of sixteen measures; in its repeat, the melody is truncated to fifteen measures. The second waltz of the first waltz pair has a leaping melody, and here Strauss again chooses an unusual length for the melody, and ends the section with a return of the introduction and complete repeat of the first waltz. The second section is reminiscent of a pastoral mood, with gentle melodies that provide a serene contrast to those of the first section. The third section is a waltz that displays Strauss at his most innovative, composing in a developmental style reflective of Beethoven. The section is characterized by four different ideas, none of which fall into a pattern, then - as if to apologize for his transgressions, Strauss concludes the waltz with a symmetrical sixteen measure melody. The opening of the coda brings back the waltz's introductory material, and the majority of the coda draws on the first waltz, although Strauss also uses references to the bridge and the second waltz pair..
Elektrisch Polka. . . Eduard Strauss
(Born March 15, 1835, in Vienna; died there December 28, 1916)
Elektrisch Polka of Eduard Strauss is a charming Schnell-Polka. The work was believed to be lost, as it was never printed and was only recently recovered about a century after it was first played. It premiered on March 3, 1895 in the Golden Hall of Vienna's Musikverein, under the direction of the composer.
Overture to Die Fledermaus. . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
(Born October 25, 1825, in Vienna; died there June 3, 1899)
Johann Strauss, Jr. began composing works for the stage after the persistent urging of family and friends. He completed his first operetta, Indigo and the Forty Thieves (1871), but withdrew it without a single performance because he could not secure the singer he wanted for the leading role. Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is a successful marriage of Strauss' music and a delightful comedic libretto by Carl Haffner and Richard Geneé. The operetta premiered April 5, 1874, less than a year after a financial panic in Austria; at a time when the impoverished Viennese public was hardly in the mood to witness the antics of a carefree aristocracy that danced till dawn at court balls and drank freely of champagne. The.
The Overture to Die Fledermaus is a potpourri of the principal melodies found in the operetta. It is not just a string of tunes, but a carefully crafted composition in which Strauss skillfully assembled the materials in a free sonata form.
Die Libelle ("The Dragonfly") Op. 204. . . Josef Strauss
Johann Strauss, Jr. was a generally good spirited extrovert, but his younger brother, Josef, was a somewhat introspective, brooding person. Each brother's music often reflects his own distinct persona, thus, even though Josef did write waltzes and polkas full of good spirits, beneath the surface his melancholy character often enters into the musical fabric. In Die Libelle, an attractive polka-mazurka, Josef combines the effervescence of his brother's music with his more emotionally complex sound. The serene work begins quietly before it becomes more a bit high-spirited when its graceful main theme is introduced.
Neue Pizzicato Polka ("New Pizzicato-Polka"), Op. 449. . . Johann Strauss, Jr.
Together with his brother Josef, Johann Strauss, Jr. composed the Pizzicato-Polka in 1870. He wrote the Neue Pizzicato-Polka in 1892 for Eduard to direct in Hamburg. Strauss included it later that year as a ballet between the second and third acts of his operetta, Fürstin Ninetta, It was published as a separate work in Hamburg in 1893.
As the title suggests, it is scored for plucked strings. Also, a glockenspiel is prominently used for the first half of the central section. Contrast is provided by the rhythm and shape of melodies and the division of the strings into sections.
Schützen-quadrille ("Sharpshooters' Quadrille") . . . Johann Strauss, Jr., Josef and Eduard Strauss
In 1863, the first Federal Shooting Contest was held in Frankfurt-am-Main, and it was so overwhelmingly successful, more festivals followed. For the third contest, held in July 1868, Vienna played host to 10,000 competitors from shooting clubs around the world. The organizers for the 1868 contest arranged concerts and balls throughout Vienna, and all the Viennese orchestras competed to present the most carefree music. At the forefront of these was the Strauss Family Orchestra, directed by Johann II, Josef and Eduard Strauss.
The Schülzen-Quadrille, was composed jointly by the three Straussbrothers for this festival, and received its premiere there in 1868. It is one of only two works for which all three brothers collaborated. Since Viennese quadrilles had six distinct ‘figures,' each brother contributed two sections: first Josef with No. 1 Panlalon and No. 2 Été, then Eduard with No. 3 Poule and No. 4 Trénis, and finally Johann - No. 5 Pastourelle and No. 6 Finale.
Auf Ferienreisen ("On a Holiday") Op. 133. . . Josef Strauss
The brief Auf Ferienreisen, polka schnell is one of Josef Strauss' most optimistic, joyful works. Although Josef generally wrote music of a less spirited and positive nature, this work begins with vigorous rhythm and a trumpet call. The main theme is lively and carefree, and the subsidiary theme is unusually raucous and rollicking, producing a feeling of wild festivity. The middle section maintains its playful character until the principal themes return and the trumpet call abruptly ends the music.