Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) was considered the king of the waltz in his day. He is credited with bringing the waltz into fashion in his native Austria, particularly the cultural and political capital of Vienna. He wrote hundreds of compositions, mostly light dance music and operettas, many of which have endured to the present. His most famous works include the Blue Danube waltz and the operetta Die Fledermaus.
Johann Strauss II on Wikipedia.
Strauss historical sites in Vienna.
Johann Strauss has his own society – in Great Britain.
Die Fledermaus (1874) tells a twisted comic tale of betrayal, abandonment, drunken revelry, and revenge. It is one of the world’s most-performed operas.
Carlos Kleiber conducts the Bavarian State Orchestra in the Die Fledermaus overture: