Jubilation may not be on your mind right now, but there is a good reason to start the year on a musical note. How about waltzing into the new year?
This year marks 200 years since the birth of an Austrian musical genius who delighted the crowds with his danceable orchestral compositions at a time when censorship, revolutionary unrest, and armed conflicts shaped people’s lives.
This year marks 200 years since the birth of an Austrian musical genius who delighted the crowds with his danceable orchestral compositions at a time when censorship, revolutionary unrest, and armed conflicts shaped people’s lives.
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899), often referred to as the “Waltz King”, made his debut in 1846, at the age of 21, with his own compositions and orchestra in the dance Café Dommayer in Vienna’s Hietzing district – and the craze, a “dancing mania of near epidemic proportions”[1], hit the city and the countryside.
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899), often referred to as the “Waltz King”, made his debut in 1846, at the age of 21, with his own compositions and orchestra in the dance Café Dommayer in Vienna’s Hietzing district – and the craze, a “dancing mania of near epidemic proportions”[1], hit the city and the countryside.
Café Dommayer, Vienna (photograph courtesy of Andreas Poeschek, viennaphoto.at, CC BY-SA 2.0 AT)
And there is one piece that resonates with Austrians like no other, you could say, and which you may have heard on an Austrian Airlines flight: the Blue Danube Waltz, which you can listen to by clicking on the button below. It uplifts and stirs the soul, which is no bad thing at the start of something new. Happy New Year!
Wishing all clients and friends
of Witinall Language Services a
happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
of Witinall Language Services a
happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
[1] Cf. Wajda, Stephan. 1980. Felix Austria. Eine Geschichte Österreichs. Wien: Ueberreuter. [my translation]
RSS Feed