Johann Strauss 1st - Leicester Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.688 W 000° 07.881
30U E 699052 N 5710606
Johann Strauss lodged here in 1838.
Waymark Code: WMC4C4
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/24/2011
Views: 3
Johann Strauss was born in Vienna in 1804. This Austrian composer, conductor, and violinist became the founder of a world famous 'Strauss Waltz Dynasty'. He was known as Johann Strauss the elder, or Johann Strauss 1 to distinguish him from his equally famous son, Johann Strauss II.
He studied the violin and played in the famous Joseph Lanner quartet, where he became familiar with the desires of the court and the public for dance tunes. He eventually left the quartet and set up his own rival larger orchestra. They became very popular and captivated the public attention
Johann 1 was responsible for music at court fetes and dances. He toured Germany and other European centres. He visited London in 1838, giving 72 concerts, and playing for festivities given in honour of Queen Victoria's coronation. He visited England again in 1849, with equal success.
In 1840 he introduced the quadrille, replacing the galop, or galopade. This was a very popular dance in simple duple time, with changes of step, or hop, at the ends of musical phrases. The quadrille was a type of square dance in 5 sections - 4 of 32 bars each, and finale. The dance used popular tunes, arias from opera, or even sacred works. It also became extremely popular.
Johann 1 composed some 250 works, 152 of them were waltzes. He died in Vienna in 1849, from Scarlet Fever, shortly after his second English visit. His fame was eclipsed by eldest his son Johann II. We have included Johann 1's most famous tune on this page: the Radetzky March. This march was composed in 1848, in honour of an Austrian Field Marshal.
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