OTD in Music History: Historically important composer Johann Strauss, Sr. (1804 - 1849) -- aka "Johann Strauss The Elder" -- is born in Vienna. Strauss Sr. was famous for the various forms of "light" music (namely waltzes, polkas, and galops) which he helped to popularize in Vienna alongside his friend and colleague, Joseph Lanner (1801 - 1843). He thereby set the foundation for his own sons -- Johann Jr. (1825 - 1899), Josef (1827 - 1870), and Eduard (1835 - 1916) -- to follow in his footsteps and create a multi-generational musical dynasty. Strauss Sr. is perhaps best known today for composing the "Radetzky March" (named after Czech nobleman Joseph Radetzky von Radetz), and he first established his reputation when he began conducting at the “Sperl,” a popular Viennese dance hall, in the early 1830s. By 1834, he was appointed bandmaster to the 1st Vienna Militia Regiment, and the following year he was made Director of the Imperial Court Balls. He then undertook a series of wildly successful concert tours across Europe. Suffice to say, he was a very busy man... but not too busy to acquire a mistress, with whom he had a whopping eight children. Perhaps not surprisingly, this ultimately led him to abandon his first family. Ironically, this proved to be a very fortuitous development for the history of "classical" music: up to that point, Strauss Sr. had staunchly refused to allow any of his sons to pursue careers in music. Johann Jr. was commanded to study banking; Josef was destined for a military career; and Eduard was expected to join the Austrian consulate. But that all changed when Strauss Sr. abandoned the family -- suddenly, the boys were freed up to pursue their musical passions. Johann Jr. quickly struck up his own band, and soon began competing with his father... PICTURED: A rare copy of the first edition printed piano-reduction score for Strauss Sr.'s "Festlieder Waltz" (Op. 193 c. 1845), which he signed on the front cover.
