BIOGRAPHY

Johann Strauss Jr. was named “The Waltz King” because of the many waltzes he wrote. Johann Jr.’s father was a successful musician and composer of dance music. He tried to convince Johann Jr. to be a banker, but since Jr. had begun to compose at the age of 6, banking was not what he wanted to do. It wasn’t long into Jr.’s adult career that he became more successful than his father, playing for many court balls and eventually becoming the Royal Director of Music for Court Balls in Emperor Franz Joseph’s court. Strauss Jr.’s music could be easily sung or whistled and was very popular in Vienna and all around the world. He had a dance orchestra that toured Europe and the U.S. His most famous waltz is the Blue Danube.