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| Johann Strauß |
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Strauß, Johann, the Younger,
b. Vienna, Oct. 25, 1825, d. Vienna, June 3, 1899, composer,
musical director. "Waltz King of Vienna", son of Johann
Strauß the Elder, brother of Josef Strauß and Eduard Strauß.
Though his father wished him to pursue a non-musical
profession, his mother Anna (née Streim) promoted his talent
emphatically. After theoretical and composition studies with
the musical director of St. Stephen´s Cathedral, |
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J. Drechsler, he acquired a "musical
license" allowing him to establish his own orchestra. On Oct. 15,
1844 successful debut with his orchestra at the Viennese restaurant
"Dommayers Casino"; soon became his father´s most significant rival.
Merged the two orchestras after his father´s death 1849. Despite his
great popularity it was a long time before he was awarded the title
"Director of the Imperial Court Balls" (1863) because of alleged
subversive activities in the revolutionary period. He was succeeded
in this function by his brother Eduard Strauß. An extensive concert
tour across Europe (from 1856) triggered outbursts of enthusiasm,
which were to be repeated on his tour through the USA 1872. S. was
married 3 times (Henriette Treffz, Ernestine Henriette Angelika
Dittrich, Adele Strauß, née Deutsch); was a close friend of J.
Brahms.
Impressed by the performances of Offenbach´s operettas at the Vienna
"Carltheater", he began to compose stage works, calling them "comic
operas", not "operettas". His first operetta was premiered in 1871.
"The Bat" ("Fledermaus"), 1874 and "The Gypsy Baron"
("Zigeunerbaron"), 1885 mark the peak of the golden age of operetta
with S. as its principal composer. S. based his operettas on popular
dance melodies (waltz, galop, polka, march, csárdás); the poor
quality of his librettos and growing competition, however,
frequently prevented their immediate success. S. raised Biedermeier
dance music to the level of high art - not only the Viennese waltz,
which was often difficult, if not impossible to dance because of
their slow introductions and excessive length, but also other dances
such as the polka, the galop, the quadrille and the march. The rapid
spread of Strauss´s Viennese waltzes is largely responsible for the
fact that Austria has been directly associated with this kind of
music to this day (the "Blue Danube Waltz", 1867, is considered
Austria´s "unofficial anthem"). |
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| Johann Strauß: Die
Fledermaus(The Bat) |
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| For Johann Strauß (1825 - Vienna - 1899)
styling (Illustration: the middle-aged Strauß) and image were as
important as they are for stars today. His unchanging appearance became
a trademark of a culture of discerning entertainment. The society of the
19th c handled crisis situations better if there was also relief in the
form of dance, opera and operetta occasionaly with extravagant music and
scenery. This waltz from the overture to Fledermaus in particular (1874)
demonstrates Strauß' technic of adding ever new themes to his delicate,
melodious phrases along with transparent harmonies that also include
nuances such as sections in minor keys. Nobody wanted to miss the
feeling of apparently never-ending movement in a lighthearted mood.(M.
Saary) |
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© Sound: 1993 TELDEC Classics
International GmbH 4509-91974-2, Artists: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt |
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Text source in extracts: |
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| aeiou - das kulturinformationssystem des bm:bwk |
| 14.000 keywords and 2000 images from
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