There were actually four Strausses in total: the father, probably best known for his Radetzky March, and the three sons Johann, Josef and Eduard, with the first being particularly prominent. Their music dominated the 19th century and is still being played around the world today. This success was probably due to the meticulus management behind the Strauss trio. We’re talking about a flourishing global business enterprise here. Johann Strauss Junior was a 19th century “pop star”; he performed in front of 100,000 people at the World Peace Jubilee in Boston in 1872, alongside 20 deputy conductors, a concert musicians nowadays would probably also be proud of.

The Strauss orchestra tours always made the headlines, and not always just for musical reasons. In 1850, on the way to Warsaw, the musicians were said to have been mistaken for spies and subsequently got locked up in a pigsty. Allegedly, they were only released thanks to the personal intervention of Tsarina Maria Feodorowna, to whom Johann Strauss Junior then dedicated the “Warsaw Polka”, which had been especially composed for this guest performance. Whether such stories were really true or simply a case of clever marketing – they definitely were good for business. Johann Strauss was particularly popular in Russia, and also caused a sensation at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867.

What’s strange is that Strauss actually suffered from a fear of travelling. Whenever a train went over a bridge or through a tunnel, he would lay down flat on the carriage floor. And he could only be persuaded to make his famous guest appearance in Boston with the added incentive of a hefty payment of 100,000 dollars. The „Railway Pleasure Waltzes“, in which the rhythmic sound of the locomotive’s steam engine can be heard, were written by his father who was a keen traveller. “Beautiful Edi” (Eduard Strauss) also paid musical tribute to this means of transportation: in his “Clear Track” Polka, we hear the train’s characteristic whistle at the beginning of the piece.

The themes of the Strauss‘ Dances were always relevant in their time – which is probably another reason for their huge popularity. The audience was moved precisely by these references to everyday life, and the music thus managed to capture the zeitgeist. 

The waltz – an evolution of the minuet – was a child of its time. Frowned upon in polite society until the early 19th century, for its hold was considered much too intimate in those days on top of its unattractive rural origin, the waltz still managed to become an extremely popular dance. The emerging bourgeoisie imitated the balls held by the nobility, making the waltz their most important dance – with roaring success, and soon, even the aristocracy wanted to dance the waltz. The first city to allow the waltz at the Imperial Court was Vienna. From here, Johann Strauss Junior finally succeded in leading the waltz to triumph. Dancing the waltz only remained prohibited in the presence of the Emperor. But not at “Haus der Musik” – you’re more than welcome to dance here!