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Johann Strauss I (German: Johann Strauß) born in
Vienna, (March 14, 1804 – September 25, 1849) was an Austrian Romantic
composer known particularly for his waltzes and for popularizing it
alongside Josef Lanner thereby (without intention) setting the foundations
for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. His most famous piece, however,
is probably the Radetzky March (named after Joseph Radetzky von Radetz)
whereas his most famous waltz is probably the Lorelei Rhine Klänge op. 154.
Johann Strauss I was the father of
Johann
Strauss II, Josef Strauss and
Eduard Strauss. He also had two daughters,
Anna who was born in 1829 and Therese who was born in 1831 as well as third
eldest son Ferdinand born 1834 lived only ten months.
Strauss' parents were innkeepers. His father was a Hungarian Jew. During
Nazi era Strauss origin was falsified with forged documents, making him into
"Aryan". (See Bernt Engelmann,"Germany without Jews". Translated from German
by D.J. Beer, New York: Bantam Books, 1984, pp. 21, 66, 279). The location
of his father's inn at the Danube Channel and the neighboring harbor with
its rafts and boats from different countries and the music played by the
sailors, influenced Johann's enthusiasm for popular dance music.
Tragedy struck his family as his mother died when he was seven of 'creeping
fever'. When he was twelve, his father Franz Borgias (who had since
remarried) was discovered drowned in the Danube river. His step-mother
sought to place him as an apprentice to a bookbinder Johann Lichtscheidl,
but he took lessons in the violin and viola in addition to fulfilling his
apprenticeship. While generally disputed, he never ran away from his
bookbinder apprenticeship and in fact successfully completed it in 1822. He
also studied music with Johann Polischansky during his apprenticeship and
eventually managed to secure a place in a local orchestra of a certain
Michael Pamer which he eventually left in order to join a popular string
quartet known as the Lanner Quartet formed by his would-be rival
Josef
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.
He eventually became conductor of the orchestra in which he played after it
became so popular during the Fasching of 1824 and 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 for it to play after 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 as the musical
competition was very
productive for the development of the waltz as well as other dance music in
Vienna. He soon became one of the best-known and well loved dance composers
in Vienna, and he toured with his band to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium,
England, and Scotland.
On a trip to France in 1837 he 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
which has proved Strauss' popularity with audiences from different social
backgrounds and this paved way to forming an ambitious plan to perform his
music in England for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838.
He also married Maria Anna Streim in 1825 in the parish church of
Liechtenthal in Vienna. His marriage was relatively unstable as his
prolonged absence from his immediate family due to frequent tours abroad led
to a gradual alienation and he later took on a mistress, Emilie Trambusch in
1834 with whom he had eight children. This personal decision probably marked
Johann Strauss II's first development as a composer as Johann senior
previously forbade his sons to undertake music studies at any point of time.
With Johann senior's open declaration of his paternity of a daughter borne
to Emilie, Maria Anna sued for divorce in 1844 and allowed Johann junior to
actively pursue a musical career. Strauss I was a strict disciplinarian in
the Strauss home called 'Hirschenhaus' better known in Vienna as the
'Goldener Hirsch' (The Golden Stag), and imposed his will on his sons to
pursue careers that are not musically-related. His own personal view may not
be to avoid a rivalry from within the family but he understood the
challenges that a struggling musician may face especially during the early
days of his career.
Despite family problems, he also toured the British Isles frequently and was
always prepared to write novelty pieces for many charitable organizations
there. His waltzes were developed from the peasant dance in three quarter
time into one with a short introduction with little or no reference to the
later chain of five two-part waltz structure and usually with a short coda
and a stirring finish although his son Johann Strauss, Jr. expanded the
waltz structure and utilized more instruments than his father. While he did
not possess a musical talent as rich as his eldest son's, nor a business
mind just as astute, he was among the first few composers along with Josef
Lanner to actively write pieces with individual titles to enable music
enthusiasts to easily recognise those pieces with the view to boost sales of
their sheet music. In fact, during his performances at the Sperl-Ballroom in
Vienna where he established his name, he actively pursued the concept of
collecting a fixed entrance fee from the patrons of the ballroom instead of
the old practice of passing around a collection plate where income is only
guaranteed by the goodwill of the patrons.
Johann Strauss II often played his father's works and openly declared his
admiration of them although it was no secret to the Viennese that their
rivalry was intense, with the press at that time fuelling it. Johann Strauss
I himself refused to play ever again at the Dommayer's Casino who offered
his son his conducting debut and was to tower over his son during his
lifetime in terms of career advancement although Strauss II was to eclipse
him in terms of popularity in the classical repertoire. In 1846, Johann
Strauss I was conferred the honorary title of KK Hofballmusikdirektor (Director
of Music for the Royal Court Balls) by Emperor Ferdinand I.
Strauss died in Vienna in 1849 from scarlet fever. He was buried at the
Döbling cemetery beside his friend Lanner. In 1904, both of their remains
were transferred to the graves of honour at the Zentralfriedhof. The former
Döbling cemetery is now a Strauss-Lanner Park. Berlioz himself paid tribute
to the 'Father of the Viennese Waltz' by commenting that 'Vienna without
Strauss is like Austria without the Danube'.
Some Works of Johann Strauss I
Waltzes
* Täuberln-Walzer op. 1 Little Doves (1827)
* Wiener Carneval op. 3 (1828)
* Kettenbrücke-Walzer op. 4 Suspension Bridge (1828)
* Tivoli-Rutsch Walzer op. 39 Tivoli-Slide (1830)
* Das Leben ein Tanz oder Der Tanz ein Leben! Walzer op. 49 Life is a Dance
* Elisabethen-Walzer op. 71
* Philomelen-Walzer op. 82
* Paris-Walzer op. 101 (1838)
* Wiener Gemüths-Walzer op. 116 Viennese Sentiments (1840)
* Lorelei Rhein Klänge op. 154 Echoes of the Rhine Loreley (1843)
Polkas
* Seufzer-Galopp op. 9 Sighing
* Chineser-Galopp op. 20 Chinese
* Einzugs-galopp op. 35 Entrance Galopp
* Sperl-Galopp op. 42
* Fortuna-Galopp op. 69
* Jugendfeuer-Galopp op. 90 Young Spirit
* Cachucha-Galopp op. 97
* Indianer-Galopp op. 111
* Sperl-Polka op. 133
* Beliebte Annen-Polka op. 137 Beloved Anna
* Piefke und Pufke Polka op. 235
Marches
* Radetzky-Marsch op. 228 (1848)
Text Source: Wikipedia
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