Johann Strauss I
Composer

Glue and String

I grew up in the Leopoldstadt suburb of Vienna, where my father kept an inn called Zum heiligen Florian. I lost my mother when I was seven and my father drowned in the Danube five years later, though nobody knows for sure whether it was an accident or something darker. My guardian decided I should learn a sensible trade and sent me to a bookbinder in 1817, as if a boy with melodies in his head could be content gluing paper all day. Instead of sticking to books, I took violin lessons with Johann Polischansky and later studied music theory with Ignaz von Seyfried.

Stepping Out on My Own

My real start in the dance halls came when I played viola for Michael Pamer and then joined a string quartet with Joseph Lanner in 1819. Our little group grew so popular that it turned into a full orchestra, and by 1824 I was serving as assistant conductor. A year later I married Maria Anna Streim and decided it was time to part ways with Joseph Lanner and lead my own musicians. My first real hit as a composer arrived soon after with the Täuberln-Walzer, and before long I was named musical director at the Sperl ballroom.

Keeping Europe on Its Feet

From my home base in Vienna, I spent years turning dance halls into places where people could forget their troubles for an evening. By the mid-1830s I was able to move my growing family into a large apartment at the Hirschenhaus in Leopoldstadt. Vienna could only hold us for so long, so I took my orchestra on long tours across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Great Britain. We even played in London during the coronation celebrations for Queen Victoria in 1838, proving that a good Viennese rhythm needs no translation.

Tunes for Boots and Ballroom Shoes

Over the years I wrote more than two hundred and fifty pieces, including a hundred and fifty-two waltzes alongside plenty of galops, polkas, quadrilles, and marches. You can hear that energy here on this site in my Radetzky March, which I wrote in 1848 to celebrate Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. It has a bright, bouncing rhythm that makes you want to tap your hands or march around the room even if you have never worn a uniform in your life. Alongside marches like that, I had great success with lively pieces such as the Seufzer-Galopp, the Cachucha-Galopp, and my waltz Loreley-Rhein-Klänge.

Trouble Under My Own Roof

While I could keep a whole orchestra in line with a flick of my bow, my home life was far less orderly. I knew how exhausting a musician's life was, so I strictly forbade my sons from following me into the profession. That plan backfired completely in 1844 when my eldest boy, Johann Strauss II, made his debut with his own orchestra at Dommayer's Casino and became my biggest rival. That same year my marriage ended in a legal separation after I left Maria Anna for the milliner Emilie Trampusch, with whom I went on to have eight children.

The Final Encore

Despite the family drama, my career reached a high point in 1846 when Emperor Ferdinand I appointed me director of music for the court balls. Even serious composers like Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner came to admire what my orchestra and I were doing. Sadly, all that constant touring and late-night performing wore me down much faster than I realized. I caught scarlet fever and died in September 1849 at the age of forty-five in the Vienna apartment I shared with Emilie Trampusch.

A Family Business After All

I was first buried right beside my old colleague Joseph Lanner at the Döbling Cemetery, and decades later we were moved together to honorary graves at the Vienna Central Cemetery. Even though I tried to keep my boys away from the violin, three of my sons—Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss, and Eduard Strauss—carried the family name into the concert halls. People sometimes mix me up with my eldest son and credit me with The Blue Danube, though that piece and the title of Waltz King belong to him. Still, I take pride in having laid the foundation for the Viennese waltz and started a musical family that kept the city spinning for generations.

Leave Your Worries at the Coat Check

When you listen to my music today, you do not need to know a single thing about music theory to enjoy it. I wrote these pieces for people who wanted to laugh, dance, and feel lighter on their feet after a long week. If a melody of mine puts a smile on your face or gets your foot tapping under the table, then it is doing its job. Just let the rhythm carry you along, and imagine yourself in a bright Viennese ballroom where the night is still young.