Johann Strauss, whose biography is of genuine interest to lovers of classical music, is the famous Austrian composer, violinist, conductor, the largest master of Vienna operetta and Viennese waltz. On his account about five hundred works in the genre of dance music (mazurka, polka, waltzes and others), which the author managed to raise to a high artistic level.
In his creations, Johann Strauss relied on the traditions of his father, F. Schubert, I. Lanner, K. M. Weber. Due to symphonization, the composer gave an individual imagery to the waltz, the popularity of which was determined by the melodic beauty and flexibility, romantic spirituality, reliance on urban Austrian folklore and the practice of domestic music-making.
The family of Johann Strauss Jr.
Strauss Sr., Johann's father, at one time tried more than one profession to find himself in music.
The talented violinist organized his own orchestra, which entertained the rich Austrians with dance music, himself was engaged in writing, toured a lot with his musical team and was awarded the title “Waltz King”. He was applauded by Brussels, London, Paris and Berlin; his waltzes had a magical effect on the public.
The Strauss Family Musicality
For almost a decade, the composer's family changed their place of residence, moving from one apartment to another, and the walls of each of them became witnesses of the birth of a new child. The eldest son of Johann Strauss, also Johann, was born in Vienna on October 25, 1825. In total, the family had seven sons - all of them later became musicians. And this is logical, because in the home atmosphere of Strauss music was always present. The rehearsals of the orchestra were often held at home, which gave the children the opportunity to watch how real musical masterpieces are born. Information about some of them confirms that Joseph became a conductor in the Strauss Orchestra since 1853 and author of popular orchestral plays, Edward became a violinist, conductor and author of dance compositions, and in 1870, Johann's successor as conductor of Vienna court balls.
The childhood of Johann Strauss
The eldest son sang in the church choir, and in his father he saw an idol, whom he sooner or later wanted to surpass. At the age of six, the boy was already playing his own compositions, which did not meet the interests of his parents, because not one of them wanted a musical future for his children.
Johann Jr. studied at the Polytechnic School and secretly mastered musical literacy from his father. The future composer Strauss, whose biography has many ups and downs, began to earn his first money by learning to play the piano, immediately paying them for violin lessons. Parental attempts to attract a young man to banking were unsuccessful.
Strauss: senior and junior
Strauss Sr., meanwhile, started a new family, in which seven more children appeared. The fact of his father's departure allowed Johann to reveal his passion, so he began to take lessons, no longer hiding. In 1844, Johann was awarded the right to conduct the Vienna Magistrate and at the age of 19 he created his own concert ensemble, performing his works. At the first performance, which became sensational for the Viennese public, the youngest Strauss, whose biography was only beginning in the musical Olympus, proved that his music can compete with the music of his father, who at that time was 40 years old. The act of his son led Strauss Sr. into a rage, and he, having a large number of connections in the higher circles, tried to complicate the life of his child as much as possible, which led to the emergence of a fierce struggle between family people. Father still played at social events at the court; his son was left to realize his talent in cafes and casinos (two small establishments in Vienna). At the same time, Strauss Sr. began the divorce proceedings with his first wife, which led to the incontinence of the eldest son and his public attacks on his father. The result of the trial was the victory of Strauss Sr. in the divorce proceedings: he left his family without inheritance and any means of livelihood. At the concert stage, Johann Sr. also triumphed, while his son’s orchestra eked out a miserable existence. Especially since John the Younger was closely interested in the police, who had information about him as a wasteful, frivolous and immoral person.
Strauss Biography: Summary
Unexpectedly for everyone in 1849, his father died, which opened Strauss Jr. to the music world of Vienna, in addition, the famous orchestra of the eminent composer chose him without a word as his conductor, and almost all the city's entertainment venues renewed his contracts with him. The composer's career began to rise sharply: at the court of the young emperor in 1852, Strauss was already playing. The biography is briefly described in many music textbooks.
In 1854, representatives of the Russian railway company came to the composer with a business proposal, which implied the payment of a considerable sum of money, who invited him to speak at the magnificent Pavlovsky Station and the park, which housed the royal palaces. Johann Strauss, whose brief biography is described in many textbooks on the history of music, immediately agreed and conquered the local public with his Polish and waltzes. His speeches were even attended by members of the imperial family.
Personal life of the composer
Johann Strauss, whose biography was connected with music his whole life, survived many love affairs in Russia, but found his family happiness in Vienna. In 1862 he married Etti Trefts, a woman older than him by 7 years, who had four sons and three daughters from the “Waltz King” at that time.
This woman was not only his wife. Etti (former opera diva Henrietta Halloucki) became for the composer secretary, nurse, business adviser and muse at the same time; with her, Strauss ascended even higher and believed in himself. In 1863, the wife and her husband visited Russia, while brother Joseph reaped the fruits of popularity in Vienna, who also became a
famous composer. In 1870, he dies, and the crown of his glory, like his father, takes over Johann Strauss.
Biography briefly: time of glory
These were the heyday of the composer's work. At this time, Johann Strauss, whose biography and work are closely intertwined, creates his famous works "Tales of the Vienna Woods" and "Blue Danube", which expressed the musical soul of Vienna and woven from the tunes of the most diverse peoples inhabiting it. The composer began to write operettas in the 70s of the XIX century under the influence of J. Offenbach. However, unlike the French operetta with brightly saturated drama, the elements of dance dominate in Strauss' works. The first operetta, Indigo and the Forty Thieves, was received with enthusiasm by the Austrian public.
The pinnacles of Strauss in this genre are “Gypsy Baron”, “Bat”. The music of Strauss was highly appreciated by P.I. Tchaikovsky, I. Brahms, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. World success for the author was fixed by performances in the UK, France and the USA; the composer directed a twenty thousandth orchestra with the support of one hundred assistant conductors. Despite universal recognition, Johann Strauss (biography and work is briefly described in many music textbooks) was always full of doubts and dissatisfied with himself, although the pace of his work can be called feverish, very stressful.
Worldwide recognition
Having refused court conducting, Johann Strauss, whose brief biography describes the key moments of his work, continued to tour various countries, successfully performing in Moscow, St. Petersburg, London, Paris, New York, Boston. The size of his income contributed to the construction of his own "city palace" and luxurious life. For some time, the death of her beloved wife and the failed second marriage with actress Angelica Dietrich, who was 25 years younger than the composer, were knocked out of the usual rhythm of life of Johann Strauss. The marriage for the third time - on Adele Deutsch, a 26-year-old young widow, whose marriage turned out to be happy, returned the composer to his usual way of life. Johann Strauss, whose biography is of genuine interest to the modern generation, devoted his third wife to the waltz “Adele”.
In 1885, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the composer, the loud premiere of the operetta “Gypsy Baron” took place, which became a real holiday for the inhabitants of Vienna, and then for the rest of the planet. Strauss, meanwhile, closely followed musical trends in the music world, studied with the classics, maintained friendships with such maestros as Franz Liszt and Johann Brahms.
Johann Strauss, whose biography is of interest to the younger generation, decided to try himself in opera; in 1892, the premiere of the opera Knight Pasman written by him took place, and the preliminary version of the ballet Cinderella was added at the end of 1898. The composer did not live to see her premiere.
The last years of the composer's life
The success of Strauss was not always at the top of the rise: there were also falls. Thus, the Vienna Blood operetta was not as successful as previous works, and withstood only a small number of representations. The last years of his life, Strauss, whose biography is interesting to many of his admirers, spent in solitude, he hid in his own mansion and from time to time played billiards with friends. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the operetta The Bat, the composer was persuaded to conduct an overture. This was his last speech, Johann Strauss caught a cold and fell ill with pneumonia. Perhaps the composer anticipated his death, in the moments of consciousness his wife heard him humming a little audibly: “Well, friends, the end must come.” This song was written by Johann's teacher Joseph Drexler. Strauss died in the arms of Adele on June 3, 1899. Vienna gave him, like Strauss Sr. once, a grand funeral. The composer's grave is located among the graves of other geniuses of music: Brahms, Schubert and Beethoven.