The Composers

Mozart (1756-91)

His early brilliance as both performer and composer coupled with an early death, before reaching his 36^th birthday, lend his life a romantic aspect which has made him one of the most famous prodigies of all time. His first symphony – used for conducting practice in the workshop – was written when he was just 8. Most of his greatest music, however, was written in the last ten years of his life.

He is perhaps the only composer in history to have been the master of every type of music; be it opera, orchestral music, chamber music or sacred works of every kind, in every genre he produced prodigious quantities of music which unarguably ranks amongst the finest ever written. As well as producing works of genius, he was also prodigious in every field – even in miniaturised form his complete works require a considerable amount of shelf space!

Strauß, Johann (ii) (1825-99) and Josef (1827-1870)

Sons of the composer, conductor and violinist Johann Strauß (i) (1804-49). Johann (i) was of humble origin but became famous as both a performer and composer of light music. Both Wagner and Chopin attended his concerts in Vienna and wrote about them in glowing terms and the fact that he participated in the celebrations for Queen Victoria’s coronation is testament to his international success. Although some of his works are still played (the most famous being the Radetzky March), his importance now is largely historical for, however great his success in his own lifetime, it was completely eclipsed by the success of his son Johann.

Johann (ii), the eldest of six children, was something of a prodigy – he wrote his first 36 bars of waltz music at the age of six. His father intended that he should have a career in banking, however so until Johann (i) left his family in 1842 he studied the violin in secret. After his father’s departure he received a proper musical training and eventually gained the position which had been created especially for his father: music director for the imperial court balls. Described as the “King of the Waltz” his works are of truly enduring appeal and include such universally loved works as the Emperor Waltz and On the beautiful blue Danube.

Although he studied music and was from a musical background, Josef Strauß first pursued a career as an architect and engineer – inventing, amongst other things, a machine for cleaning the streets! In his spare time, however he composed and eventually, in 1856, he decided to take up a musical career in earnest. Until their younger brother Eduard’s début in 1862, Josef and Johann shared direction of the family’s orchestra and then the three brothers worked together for a year until Johann withdrew upon receiving his Court appointment.

The Pizzicato Polka in the only really well-known result of a small number of collaborations between Johann and one or both of his brothers. It was written in 1870.

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