Johann Strauss II was an Austrian composer who lived from 1825 to 1899. He wrote about 500 pieces of dance music, and people called him the Waltz King. His most famous waltz is The Blue Danube. The best first piece for a child is the Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, which is fast, funny, and under three minutes long.
Quick facts
- Born: 1825, in Vienna, Austria
- Died: 1899, in Vienna, Austria
- Era: Romantic
- Played: violin
- Known for: The Blue Danube, Tales from the Vienna Woods, the Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, and the operetta Die Fledermaus
Two composers named Johann Strauss
His father, Johann Strauss Sr., led the most famous dance orchestra in Vienna. The father wrote the Radetzky March. To tell the two apart, people call the son Johann Strauss II or Johann Strauss Jr. Read Johann Strauss Sr. for kids.
The life in short
The father did not want his sons to be musicians. He wanted Johann to work in a bank. So the boy took violin lessons in secret, and his mother helped him.
At 18, Johann formed his own orchestra and gave his first concert at a dance hall near Vienna. The crowd made him repeat pieces again and again. A newspaper wrote, “Good night, Lanner. Good evening, Father Strauss. Good morning, Son Strauss.” Lanner was another waltz composer, who had died the year before.
Father and son were now rivals, each with an orchestra. When the father died five years later, Johann joined the two orchestras into one.
He led the orchestra with a violin in his hand. He played along and used the bow as a baton. His brothers Josef and Eduard also wrote music and helped lead the family’s orchestras. Read musical families.
Strauss toured Europe and Russia. In 1872, he went to the United States and led giant festival concerts in Boston with a huge orchestra and chorus.
Later he turned to operettas, which are light, funny operas with spoken parts. Die Fledermaus, which means “the bat,” is the best known.
The composer Brahms was his friend and loved his waltzes.
What the music sounds like
A waltz has three beats in a bar: one strong and two light. Dancers turn around the floor to it. A Strauss waltz often starts with a slow, quiet opening and then strings several waltz tunes together.
A polka has two beats in a bar and is quick and bouncy. Strauss wrote many polkas with jokes in them, such as thunder, a popping cork, or chattering voices.
Four pieces to play first
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka. The title means “chit-chat.” The music rushes and chatters like gossip.
The Blue Danube. It opens with a soft shimmer in the violins and a rising call from the horn. Then the famous waltz tune begins. Play the first four minutes.
Thunder and Lightning Polka. The bass drum is the thunder, and the cymbals are the lightning.
Pizzicato Polka. The string players put down their bows and pluck every note. Johann wrote it with his brother Josef.
Things to do together
One, two, three. Play The Blue Danube. Pat your knees on beat one and clap on beats two and three.
Count the storm. Play the Thunder and Lightning Polka. Tally the cymbal crashes.
Pluck it. Stretch a rubber band over a box and pluck it. That is pizzicato. Then listen for it in the Pizzicato Polka.
Waltz or polka. Play a few seconds of each piece. Ask your child whether it goes in threes or in twos. See time signatures explained.
New Year’s Day in Vienna
Each January 1, the Vienna Philharmonic plays a concert of music by the Strauss family. It is shown on television around the world. The concert ends with The Blue Danube and then the father’s Radetzky March, and the audience claps along. See how to watch an orchestra concert at home with kids. For the day itself, read the Vienna New Year’s Concert with kids.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Strauss. For more music to move to, see classical music for kids to dance to. His friend Brahms has a page too. For a closer listen to one waltz, see The Blue Danube guide.
For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.