Johann Strauss I

Johann Baptist Strauss I (; German: [ˈjoːhan bapˈtɪst ˈʃtʁaʊs]; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849), also known as Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder or the Father (German: Johann Strauß Vater), was an Austrian composer of the Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galops, which he popularized alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons—Johann II, Josef and Eduard—to carry on his musical dynasty. He is best known for his composition of the Radetzky March (named after Joseph Radetzky von Radetz).

Johann Strauss was born in Leopoldstadt (now in Vienna). Strauss's parents, Franz Borgias Strauss and Barbara Dollmann, were innkeepers (Zum heiligen Florian). He was born a Roman Catholic. Strauss had a Jewish grandfather, Johann Michael Strauss N, who converted to Catholicism.

Strauss' mother died of "creeping fever" when he was seven and five years later his father drowned, possibly as a result of suicide, in the Danube river. Strauss' guardian, the tailor Anton Müller, placed him as an apprentice to the bookbinder, Johann Lichtscheidl; Strauss took lessons in the violin and viola in addition to fulfilling his apprenticeship. Contrary to a story later told by his son Johann Strauss II, Strauss successfully completed his bookbinder apprenticeship in 1822. He also studied music with Johann Polischansky during his apprenticeship and eventually managed to secure a place in a local orchestra, headed by Michael Pamer. Strauss left the orchestra to join a popular string quartet known as the Lanner Quartet, formed by his future rivals Joseph Lanner and the Drahanek brothers, Karl and Johann. This string quartet playing Viennese waltzes and rustic German dances expanded into a small string orchestra in 1824.

Strauss became deputy conductor of the orchestra to assist Lanner in commissions after it became so popular during the Fasching of 1824. Strauss was soon placed in command of a second smaller orchestra which was formed as a result of the success of the parent orchestra. In 1825, he decided to form his own band and began to write music (chiefly, dance music) for it to play. He realized that he could also possibly emulate the success of Lanner in addition to putting an end to his financial struggles. By so doing, he would have made Lanner a serious rival although the rivalry did not entail hostile consequences. The musical competition was very productive for the development of the waltz as well as other dance music in Vienna.

Strauss soon became one of the best-known and well loved dance composers in Vienna. During the carnival of 1826, Strauss inaugurated his long line of triumphs by introducing his band to the public of Vienna at the Schwan in the suburb of Roßau where his Täuberln-Walzer (Op. 1) at once established his reputation. He toured with his band to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain. The conducting reins and management of this Strauss Orchestra would eventually be passed on to the hands of his sons until its disbandment by Eduard Strauss in 1901.

On a trip to France in 1837 Strauss heard the quadrille and began to compose them himself, becoming largely responsible for introducing that dance to Austria in the 1840 Fasching, where it became very popular. It was this very trip (in 1837) which has proved Strauss' popularity with audiences from different social backgrounds and this paved the way to forming an ambitious plan to perform his music in England for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. Strauss also adapted various popular melodies of his day into his works so as to ensure a wider audience, as evidenced in the incorporation of the Oberon overture into his early waltz, "Wiener Carneval", Op. 3, and also the (at the time former) French national anthem "La Marseillaise" into his "Paris-Walzer", Op. 101.

Täuberln-Walzer, Op. 1 Little Doves (1827)

Döblinger Réunion-Walzer, Op. 2 Dobling Reunion Waltz

Wiener Carneval, Op. 3 Viennese Carnival (1828)

Kettenbrücke-Walzer, Op. 4 Suspension Bridge (1828)

Gesellschafts-Walzer, Op. 5 Association’s Waltz

Indianer-Galopp, Op. 111 Red Indian Galopp

Annen-Polka, Op. 137 (not to be confused with his son's Annen-Polka, Op. 117, 1852)