STRAUSS, JOHANN (1804-49), Austrian orchestral con ductor and composer of dance-music, was born at Vienna on March 14, 1804. He began as violinist in a small orchestra and then, after acting for a time as deputy conductor, formed a small band of his own, which he introduced to the Vienna public during the carnival of 1826 at the Schwan, in the Rossau suburb, where his famous Tduberl-Walzer (op. I) at once established his reputa tion as the best composer of dance-music then living. Later he was appointed kapellmeister to the ist Burger Regiment, and charged with the duty of providing the music for the court balls. With the growth of his fame so did the size of his orchestra in crease until it ultimately numbered over 200 performers. In 1833 he began a long series of tours throughout northern Europe, eventually visiting England in 1838. Back in Vienna, he ap peared eventually in the Imperial Volksgarten, which thenceforth became the scene of his most memorable successes, his conducting being marked by a quiet power which ensured the perfection of every minutest nuance. He revisited London in 1849, and, after his
farewell concert, was escorted down the Thames by a squadron of boats, in one of which a band played tunes in his honour. This was his last public triumph. He died in Vienna on Sept. 25, , Strauss was survived by three sons—Johann (1825-99), Joseph ' (1827-7o) and Eduard (1835-1916), all distinguished as corn posers of dance-music. To Johann was due the most famous of all the waltzes associated with the name of the family, An der schonen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube), and many popular operettas, of which Die Fledermaus is the best known.