The early to mid-19th century was more than just a time of waltzes, it was also the polka and the galop that held the floor. The most important dancemen came from Vienna: Johann Strauss I and Joseph Lanner. A group

Johann Strauss (Father) was the darling of the Viennese dance craze and simply known as “The Tyrant of Waltz.” As the leader of a hugely popular dance orchestra, he sent the pleasure-seeking and cheery population of imperial Vienna into throbbing

Ever since I was a little girl, my parents made me watch the New Year’s concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. Apparently, as they kept telling me, “it is good for you.” They needn’t have worried, because I loved to watch

Johann Strauss Senior was a very wealthy man indeed. Operating under the assumption that “there is a sucker born every minute,” he filled the dance halls of Europe and performed in front of royalty, even playing for Queen Victoria’s coronation.

Situated just north-west of Vienna, the Wienerwald, the eastern foothills of the Alps were an enticing area for Vienna’s composers – we have many images of composers such as Beethoven and Schubert walking through the Vienna Woods and we have

The American showman and businessman P.T. Barnum famously quipped, “Every crowd has a silver lining.” As the founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, an entertainment institution that ran for almost 150 years, he certainly knew how to draw in

The extraordinary dynasty of dance music composers and musicians named Strauss originated in the Hungarian town of Buda. Around 1750, Grandfather Johann moved to Vienna, and his son Franz Borgias operated a small tavern in the suburb of Leopoldstadt. That

Johann Strauss II, or Junior, or the younger The Waltz King, (not related to Richard), composed over 400 of the world’s most beloved waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, dance music and operettas. These include the perennial favorites: An der Schonen Blauen Donau