Rosalyn Tureck: The Greatest Bach Pianist You’ve Never Heard Of

by Emily E. Hogstad

Most classical music lovers know about Glenn Gould and his legendary recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

But do you know about Rosalyn Tureck, the incredible keyboard player who inspired him?

Over the course of her very long career, Rosalyn Tureck wore countless hats as a pianist, theremin player, harpsichordist, keyboard player, composer, conductor, teacher, and all-around great musical thinker.

Rosalyn Tureck

Today, we’re looking at her life, including the mystical experience in a Juilliard practice room that changed the course of her career, her fascinating experiments with very new (and very old) instruments, and how her playing inspired a young Glenn Gould.

Rosalyn Tureck’s Early Education

Rosalyn Tureck was born on 14 December 1913 in Chicago to two Russian-Jewish immigrants.

Her whole family was musical. Her grandfather worked as a cantor in Kiev, and her mother taught her three daughters to play piano.

When Rosalyn was nine, she began taking lessons from Sophia Brilliant-Liven. Brilliant-Liven had an impressive resume: she’d studied under Anton Rubinstein, the pianist who had founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

She was also a strict teacher. Tureck later remembered that for an entire four years, she never received a single compliment.

The first compliment came after Rosalyn won a major competition at thirteen. Brilliant-Liven heard her performance and told her, “If I had been listening from outside the auditorium, I would have sworn it was Anton Rubinstein himself playing.”

A Fascination With New (and Old) Technology

Rosalyn Tureck

From an early age, Tureck demonstrated what would become a lifelong interest in new musical technology.

She was especially taken by an electronic instrument called the theremin, which was patented in 1928. When she was ten years old, she had the opportunity to meet the instrument’s inventor, Leon Theremin. It wasn’t long before she was playing Bach on it.

At sixteen, she realised she could use her theremin expertise to secure a scholarship. She went on to make her Carnegie Hall debut on the theremin – not piano – in 1932.

Around the same time, Tureck also began studying with pianist and harpsichordist Gavin Williamson in Chicago. In the 1920s, when there were only a couple of dozen harpsichords in the country, Williamson and his partner Philip Manuel went to Paris to commission a reproduction. They played a major role in resurrecting the instrument in America.

Williamson passed along his love of the harpsichord – and especially Bach as played on the harpsichord – to Tureck.

Revelations at Juilliard

Rosalyn Tureck

When Tureck auditioned for Juilliard in 1931, the audition committee asked her to play a Bach Prelude and Fugue. She asked, “Which one?” Turns out she had all of them memorised and was prepared to play any.

Needless to say, she was accepted into Juilliard. She began studying with Olga Samaroff, a teacher well-known for encouraging the unique creative voices of her students.

One day, while at Juilliard, she had an epiphany about the works.

One Wednesday, I started studying the Fugue in A minor from the WTC First Book.

At a certain point, I lost consciousness, and when I regained it, I had a sort of revelation. All of a sudden, I had within my reach a penetration of Bach’s structure, of his entire sense of form…

A door had opened for me on an entirely different world.

This epiphany at college would form the basis of her professional specialty.

Rosalyn Tureck playing Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor   

Promoting Bach

In 1937, Tureck played six all-Bach concerts in New York City. Such a specialty was unusual at the time. She began presenting these performances annually.

It took time to win over the critics, but she eventually did. In 1944, the New York Times wrote about her performance of the Goldberg Variations that she “gave each variation with so distinctive a character and with such verve and vitality that the listener had the illusion of hearing Bach himself playing them on the harpsichord.”

Other musicians were also engaging with Bach’s keyboard works around this time. In 1946, harpsichordist Wanda Landowska made a recording of the Goldberg Variations, and it sold unexpectedly well.

Tureck went into the studio herself in 1947, creating her own recording of the Goldberg Variations.  

In 1949, a sixteen-year-old Glenn Gould came to one of her New York Bach concerts. He was absolutely dazzled by her and her recordings.

Glenn Gould at the piano

He later remembered Tureck:

She was the first person who played Bach in what seemed to me a sensible way. It was playing of such uprightness, to put it into the moral sphere. There was such a sense of repose that had nothing to do with languor, but rather with moral rectitude in the liturgical sense.

He also said:

I was fighting a battle in which I was never going to get a surrender flag from my teacher on the way Bach should go, but her records were the first evidence that one did not fight alone.

Gould himself went on to make his own legendary, hugely influential recording of the Goldberg Variations in 1955.

Embracing New Technology

Leon Theremin © thereminworld.com

Tureck’s expertise didn’t stop at Bach. Even during her time at Juilliard, she began exploring her interest in electronic instruments. She actually began studying the theremin with Theremin himself.

Later, she’d become fascinated with the artistic possibilities inherent in electronic keyboards.

For twenty years, she worked with researcher Dr. Hugo Beniof, a seismologist who worked at CalTech and was developing electronic keyboards. The two wanted to create an instrument that played like a piano and had a wide dynamic range.

After Beniof’s death, despite the fact that the instrument had never been truly perfected, a performance featuring it was organised at the Hollywood Bowl. Marketing materials heralded that the electronic piano would be louder than an entire orchestra.

The invention was conceptually interesting and pushed the bounds of technology at the time. Unfortunately, in the end, it turned out that a loud piano had limited commercial appeal, but it was still a testament to Tureck’s fascination with pushing boundaries.

Contemporary Music

Rosalyn Tureck

Tureck also loved contemporary music, championing many new works over the course of her career.

She premiered Copland’s challenging piano sonata in Britain; Diamond wrote his first piano sonata in 1947 for her; and she premiered William Schuman’s 1942 piano concerto.  

In 1949, she founded the Contemporary Music Society, and she ran the organisation until 1953.

She even composed herself, even studying for a time with Schoenberg. In 1952, in the words of her obituary, “she presented the first programme in the United States of tape and electronic music.”

Travels and Teaching

For decades, Rosalyn Tureck traveled across America and the world giving performances.

She founded her own orchestra – the Tureck Bach Orchestra – which performed between 1960 and 1972.

She also became the first woman to conduct at a New York Philharmonic subscription concert in 1958. Leonard Bernstein conducted the program, but he stepped aside during the Bach concerto so that she could conduct from the piano.  

Teaching was a major part of her life. Over the course of her career, she taught at a number of institutions, including the Philadelphia Conservatory, the Mannes School of Music, Juilliard, Columbia University, and Oxford.

She was also the author of a number of books, including the three-volume Introduction To The Performance Of Bach, and also edited editions of various Bach works.  

The list of musical organisations she founded is staggering. Here’s the list in her obituary:

“Composers of Today, New York City, 1949-53; the International Bach Society in 1966, and the Institute for Bach Studies, New York, two years later; the Tureck Bach Institute, New York, 1966-90; and last but not least, the Tureck Bach Research Foundation (TBRF) of Oxford in 1993.”

Final Years and Legacy

Rosalyn Tureck

In the 1990s, Tureck moved to Oxford to oversee the TBRF. Her wide-ranging interests and huge personality proved to be irresistible.

In the words of her obituary:

The TBRF held an annual symposium at which distinguished speakers from different disciplines – ranging from music to astrophysics and Egyptology – addressed the same topic, such as structure or embellishment.

At those meetings, Tureck played Bach on everything from the harpsichord to the Steinway and the synthesiser – often on several instruments during one concert – and she had little patience for the restrictive attitudes that declared Bach should only be played on historical instruments.

Rosalyn Tureck died in July 2003. She left behind a reputation for being one of the most imaginative keyboard artists of the twentieth century.

Alessandro Scarlatti’s Soulful Legacy: 10 Arias that Still Stir the Heart

by Hermione Lai 

In 2025, we’re celebrating 300 years since Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) left his mark on music history. Born in Palermo, Scarlatti composed over 100 operas and 600 chamber cantatas, many featuring exquisite da capo arias renowned for their lyrical elegance and dramatic intensity.

Alessandro Scarlatti became known as the “father of the Neapolitan school of Opera,” and his melodies feature fluid phrasing and innovative orchestration. It’s like a mixture of Baroque ornamentation with a proto-Classical clarity.

Alessandro Scarlatti

To commemorate his passing on 22 October 1725, let’s highlight the 10 most frequently performed and recorded arias, pieces that evoke deep emotions ranging from tender longing to stormy passion.  

Radiant Dawn of Love

Alessandro Scarlatti crafted “Già il sole dal Gange” (Already the Sun from the Ganges) at the remarkably young age of 19 for his second opera, L’honestà negli amori (Honesty in Love Affairs).

It premiered on 3 February 1680 at the Teatro di Palazzo Bernini in Rome under the patronage of Queen Christina of Sweden. The work explores themes of romantic intrigue in an Algerian setting, and the aria is sung by the character “Saldino,” a pageboy.

The music pulses with a buoyant optimism, with the first rays of sunlight dancing across a serene river. This radiant dawn aria, with its soaring, sunlit phrases and graceful melismas, captures youthful love’s awakening. It is still a staple in vocal pedagogy today for its pure and flowing melodic line.  

Love’s Anguish

Alessandro Scarlatti

Scarlatti’s opera Il Pompeo premiered in Rome in 1683, and it draws on the historical figure of Pompey the Great. Weaving a tale of political intrigue and personal betrayal, the aria “O cessate di piagarmi” (Oh, Cease to Torment Me) expresses the anguish of love’s torment, a recurring theme in Scarlatti’s operas.

Even at this early stage in his career, Scarlatti had already mastered the art of the da capo aria, using its ABA structure to deepen emotional contrast. It is a beautiful aria that pulses with raw, aching emotion.

The music unfolds like a quiet cry of the heart, its languid melody weaving a tapestry of longing and despair. Scarlatti distilled complex human suffering into a concise and expressive form.

Sighs of Solitude

Let’s stay with Il Pompeo for our next selection. “Toglietemi la vita ancor” (Take Away My Life Again) is a piercingly intense aria that lays bare the depths of despair and resignation.

The music moves at a very deliberate, almost funereal pace, its melody a fragile thread of anguish woven through a delicate web of sighs. The vocal line, with its aching leaps and lingering phrases, feels like a whispered plea for release from unbearable suffering.

Each note is heavy with the weight of betrayal and lost love, and the sparse continuo accompaniment underscores the solitude. The aria’s stark beauty and raw emotion have made it a lasting gem, and it is frequently performed independently.

Floral Fantasy

Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti composed “Le violette” (The Violets) for his opera Pirro e Demetrio, a work that premiered in Naples in 1694. It tells a tale of love and rivalry set against the backdrop of ancient kingdoms, focusing on the characters Pyrrhus and Demetrius.

The aria uses the metaphor of violets to express delicate, amorous sentiments, a common Baroque device. Scarlatti’s setting showcases his skill in crafting lyrical, expressive arias within the da capo form, balancing emotional depth with virtuosic elegance.

This aria blooms with delicate charm and youthful longing as the music dances with a gentle, almost pastoral grace. This delicate pastoral gem with lilting rhythms and floral imagery in the vocal line blends sweetness and melancholy in a da capo form that unfolds like a blooming flower. 

Hypnotic Embrace

Alessandro Scarlatti composed “Dormi o fulmine di Guerra” (Sleep, O Thunderbolt of War) for his oratorio Giuditta. Unlike his operas, this sacred oratorio is based on the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes and focuses on dramatic storytelling through music without staging.

The aria, sung by Judith to the sleeping Holofernes, is a moment of tender irony, as she lulls the Assyrian general to sleep before killing him. It is essentially a lullaby that unfolds with a tender and almost hypnotic rhythm.

The vocal line, with its soft and undulating phrases, conveys a sense of calm and compassion, urging rest and peace upon a figure of strength and turmoil. The aria evokes a poignant blend of tranquillity and reverence, and it is often extracted for a standalone performance.

Moonlit Shadows

The cantata Correa nel seno amato (As the sun hastened toward its beloved) premiered in Naples in 1699. A semi-dramatic work, it was performed for courtly celebrations, and likely commissioned for a private aristocratic event.

The aria “Ombre opache” (Opaque Shadows) reflects a moment of emotional and dramatic intensity, and cast in da capo form, it uses subtle ornamentation and harmonic shading to evoke a vivid emotional landscape.

Undulating phrases over a continuo bass evoke a moonlit reverie with subtle harmonic shifts allowing the music to drift like a shadow over a misty landscape. The sinuous melody weaves a sense of quiet dread and longing.

The delicate vocal line feels like a whispered confession, heavy with the weight of hidden sorrow and forbidden desire. The sparse and mournful continuo accompaniment enhances the atmosphere of solitude and evokes a profound sense of introspection and unease.

Tomb-Side Whisper

Alessandro Scarlatti

The opera Mitridate Eupatore premiered in Vence in 1707. This operatic masterpiece centres on the historical figure Mithridates VI of Pontus, and weaves a tale of betrayal, power, and personal tragedy.

This tomb-side lament features profound and arching lines spiced up with chromatic descents. Blending sorrow with sublime tenderness, this heart-wrenching aria pulses with raw grief and tender devotion.

Unfolding at a funereal pace, this delicate lament seems to cradle the weight of loss. Drawn-out phrases and subtle ornaments convey a sense of intimate sorrow, as the character is whispering to a departed loved one. Here, Scarlatti captures human vulnerability, making it a standout piece often performed independently in recitals.

Tragedy in the Minor Key

Alessandro Scarlatti’s Griselda – title page of the libretto

Premiered in January 1721 in Rome, Griselda is based on Boccaccio’s tale of a woman tested by the cruel trials of loyalty and love. Composed late in Scarlatti’s career, this opera reflects the composer’s refined mastery of the da capo aria, lending dramatic expressiveness with intricate vocal writing.

The aria “Figlio! Tiranno! O Dio!” (Son! Tyrant! O God!) is a visceral outpouring of anguish and conflict, charged with dramatic intensity. Set in a turbulent minor key, the aria surges with a restless, almost frantic energy.

Its jagged melodic lines and abrupt rhythmic shifts mirror a heart torn between love, betrayal, and despair. Marked by impassioned leaps and anguished phrasing, this aria feels like a cry wrenched from the depths of a tormented soul. Here, raw emotion meets melodic elegance.

Fleeting Beauty—Eternal Music

The serenata Ferma omai, fugace e bella (Stay Now, Fleeting and Beautiful), was probably written for a private occasion, and it celebrates mythological and pastoral themes common to the genre.

The aria, “Va, va che I lamenti miei” (Go, Go, for My Laments), brims with yearning and resignation. The music flows with a graceful yet sorrowful lilt, its melody weaving a delicate tapestry of heartbreak and quiet defiance.

Alessandro Scarlatti, a cornerstone of the Neapolitan Baroque, masterfully blended lyrical expressiveness with dramatic intensity, crafting arias that capture the depths of human emotion with vivid melodic lines and refined da capo structures.

As we commemorate his 300th anniversary, we celebrate his artistry of infusing both sacred and secular works with profound emotional resonance. Just listen to the aria “While I Rejoice in Sweet Oblivion” for the seamless balance between virtuosic flair and evocative storytelling. His innovative use of melody, harmony, and orchestration ensures his works remain timeless.

Jacqueline Mary du Pré

 by Desiree Ho  May 25th, 2012

Jacqueline Mary du Pré (1945-1987) is arguably one of the most gifted cellists of our time. She is particularly remembered for her legendary debut performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor (one of the favourite cello concertos of all time), which she performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in 1962 under Rudolf Schwarz.

Jacqueline du Pré’s performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto was regarded so highly that she returned three years in succession to perform this favourite work, and further recorded it for EMI in 1965 (album title “Jacqueline Du Pré – Favourite Cello Concertos”). Considered the finest interpreter of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, her work instantly became known as the benchmark reference which made her an international star. On 14 May 1965, she performed at Carnegie Hall for her United States debut.

Sadly, what began as a promising international career was cut short by a nervous system disease called multiple sclerosis, and she died in 1987 at the age of 42.

Du Pré’s Childhood

Du Pré was born in Oxford into a middle-class family. At the young age of four, she heard the sound of the cello on the radio for the first time and asked her mother for “one of those”. Her mother immediately noticed Du Pré’s fascination with the instrument and gave her her first music lessons, and by five she was enrolled into the London Violoncello School.

In 1956, Du Pré became the youngest recipient of the Suggia Gift Award, a scholarship established by the renowned Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia. At just age 11, she continues to hold the title as the youngest recipient till this day. The award enabled her to further her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She also began winning many music competitions that further confirmed her talent and ability in the instrument.

As a Suggia awardee, Du Pré was required to practice the cello at least four hours a day, an obligation that cut her off from normal school activities and relationships. However, this allowed her to study under renowned cellist William Pleeth, a child prodigy himself.

Pleeth’s influence in Du Pré’s life was unquestionable. She called him “my Cello Daddy”, while Pleeth explained that teaching her was “like hitting a ball against a wall. The harder you hit it, the harder it would return. I could see the potential quite strongly on the first day. As the next few lessons went on, it just sort of unfolded itself like a flower, so that you knew that everything was possible.“

Studying with Casals and Tortelier

After becoming the youngest performer to ever win the Queen’s prize, Du Pré continued her studies under world-famous cellists Pablo Casals in Switzerland, Paul Tortelier in Paris and Mstislav Rostropovich in Russia. An anonymous benefactor bought her the beautiful 1673 Stradivarius cello in preparation for her professional debut. Rostropovich, who was so impressed with the young cellist, declared her “the only cellist of the younger generation that could equal and overtake his own“.

In 1966, Du Pré was invited to perform the Brahms F major Sonata with Israeli conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim. The two quickly fell in love and married in May the next year. TIME magazine wrote, “Thus began one of the most remarkable relationships, personal as well as professional, that music has known since the days of Clara and Robert Schumann.” Their marriage thrilled listeners around the world, and marked a triumphant period for both. Together they toured throughout North America and Europe, and recorded what became part of Du Pré’s legacy of recordings.

During the two years after the Elgar performance, she sometimes noticed numbness in her fingers. She could not pinpoint the exact time when it started, but she did take a break from the exhaustion of touring and performing in spring 1971 to move in with her sister Hilary in Ashmansworth, Hampshire.

Jacqueline Du Pré – Favourite Cello Concertos album © Discogs

When she resumed concert appearances in 1972, the numbness in her hands grew steadily worse. Her doctors could not explain the condition, but told her it was caused by stress. At a rehearsal for the Brahms Double Concerto in 1973 she needed help to open her cello case and said that she could not feel the strings with her fingers. She had to rely on her eyes to tell where her fingers were placed on the instrument.

Du Pré told Leonard Bernstein that she was unable to play. “Don’t be such a goose“, he told her. “You’re just nervous.” Although she managed three of the concerts, the third ended up as a disaster. That marked her last appearance as a cellist.

As a result, Bernstein took her to a doctor in New York, but neither could he find anything wrong with her. Du Pré began to wonder if she was going mad. Only after several tests in London two years later was she finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The music world was stunned by the news that she might never play again.

Tributes soon poured in, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE) amongst other honorary degrees. Confined to a wheelchair now, Du Pré continued to contribute to the music world by conducting master classes at the Guildhall School and even conducted several of them on television. However, her health continued to decline. She died in 1987, at the age of forty-two.

In the words of her friend Christopher Nupen, “The loss is still touching the hearts of people all over the world, because this great cellist had ways of reaching the heart that are given to very, very few.“

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis is a nervous system disease that affects communication between the brain and the spinal cord. The inflammatory disease causes the body’s own defense system to attack the myelin sheath, the material that protects the nerve cells around the axons of the brain and spinal cord.

When myelin is lost, the axons can no longer effectively conduct signals. Consequently, the nerve impulses are distorted and interrupted, causing the patient to suffer almost any neurological symptoms including numbness, muscle weakness, difficulty in moving, coordination problems, amongst others.

Multiple Sclerosis usually occurs in young adults and is more common in women than men. Despite the advances in medical science and our knowledge about the disease process, little is known about the cause of the disease. The disease is usually mild but some people may lose the ability to write, speak or walk.

Despite her early departure, Du Pré left us a wonderful legacy of recordings, though her admirers may complain they were not enough. Nevertheless, Du Pré will be remembered for the elegance and ferocity that transcends in her music.

“There is plenty of strength to her playing, and a good measure of romanticism without the romantic string mannerisms of portamento (sliding from note to note) and a fast wide vibrato. She can produce a mellow sound of unusual size and clearly was born to play the cello,” wrote Harold C. Schonberg in The New York Times after her 1967 concert.  

Elgar – his music Cello Concerto. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2011, from Jacqueline du Pré — The concerto’s consummate interpreter?: http://www.elgar.org/3cello-b.htm

Muelle, M. (n.d.). Jacqueline Du Pré. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from Jacqueline Du Pré: http://www.jacquelinedupre.net/jdupre/whoisjdp.htm

New York Times. (1987, October 20). Jacqueline du Pre, Noted Cellist, Is Dead at 42. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/20/obituaries/jacqueline-du-pre-noted-cellist-is-dead-at-42.html

Zukerman, E. (1999, April 25). Heartstrings. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from Multi-sclerosis: http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/May1999/BookReviewsduPre.html

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Johann Strauss II

 by Georg Predota  October 11th, 2025

Bicentennial Celebration: Waltzing Through Time

On 25 October 1825, in the bustling heart of Vienna, a child was born who would etch his name into the annals of musical history as the undisputed “Waltz King.” Johann Strauss II, son of the original Strauss patriarch, Johann Strauss I, emerged not just as a composer but as a cultural phenomenon, transforming the Viennese waltz from a simple ballroom diversion into a global symbol of elegance, romance, and unbridled joy.

Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II: “Viennese Blood”  

Strauss Junior captured the spirit of 19th-century Europe, his music a whirlwind of imperial grandeur, social upheaval, and hedonistic escape. As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, the city of Vienna has declared a bicentennial extravaganza that reaffirms his legacy as a bridge between classical sophistication and populist delight.

The Johann Strauss 2025 Viennese celebrations run under the motto “King of Waltz, Queen of Music,” and encompass over 65 performances, three major exhibitions, and events spanning 71 locations across all 23 districts of the city. As musicologist Michele Calella of the University of Vienna notes, Strauss’ work remains “quintessentially Viennese, shaping the city’s identity as a cultural beacon even today.”   

Against the Grain

The young Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss Junior’s story begins in defiance. Born into a musical dynasty dominated by his father, young Johann was forbidden from pursuing composition. The elder Strauss envisioned a bourgeois future for his son: first law school, then a banking career, stability, anything but the itinerant life of a bandleader.

Defying paternal expectations, Strauss Junior secretly studied violin and compositions, debuting at age 19 at Dommayer’s Casino in Vienna. The selection of music he presented included works by Meyerbeer, Auber, Suppé and also by his father.

He also gave the premières of four of his own compositions, and the press was unanimous in its praise for the young Strauss and his music. This act of rebellion ignited a lifelong rivalry with his father, yet his early waltzes, like “Sinngedichte” and “Gunstwerber” captivated audiences with their lyrical charm.

The Sound of a New Era

Waltzing in the 19th century

Strauss’ early career was a whirlwind of polkas, marches, and waltzes that mirrored the era’s ferment. The 1848 revolutions rocked Vienna, yet Strauss, ever the entertainer, composed pieces like the “Revolutions-Walzer,” blending revolutionary fervour with danceable levity.

He quickly eclipsed his father’s fame, and upon Johann I’s death in 1849, Strauss Junior merged the ensembles to form a “super-virtuoso outfit” that toured Europe with unprecedented success.

The orchestra, under his baton, was renowned for its precision and ability to convey the lilting, almost dance-like quality of his music. The orchestra became Vienna’s musical heartbeat, delivering performances that balanced technical finesse with a sense of spontaneity. Strauss’ genius lay in elevating dance music to an art form, infusing it with sophistication while keeping it accessible and joyous.  

The Mozart of the Waltz

Strauss was also a master of orchestration, using the ensemble’s strings, woodwinds, and brass to create a lush, sparkling sound that felt both grand and intimate. His ability to tailor music for specific occasions, whether imperial balls or public concerts, meant the orchestra could shift seamlessly between grandeur and playfulness.

Let’s not forget, however, that Strauss Junior staunchly championed the music of Liszt and Wagner. Johann and Josef Strauss were the first musicians in Vienna to feature extracts from Wagner’s operas in concert. Similarly, arrangements of Verdi’s music frequently figured in the programmes of the Strauss Orchestra.

This unprecedented versatility made the Strauss Orchestra a cultural institution, exporting Viennese charm across Europe and beyond. Strauss embarked on tours to Russia, England, and America, where in 1872 he conducted 23 concerts in Boston, earning the moniker “the Mozart of the waltz.”   

The First Pop Star

Johann Strauss II in concert

Music historian H. E. Piggott describes Johann II as “the first pop star,” a composer whose “sheer consistency of invention” outshone all contemporaries. Strauss’ innate skill at instrumentation as well as his lifelong genius for melodic invention drew the praise of a number of composers.

Verdi said, “I honour him as one of my most gifted colleagues,: and even the usually grumpy Johannes Brahms once quipped, “sadly, the Blue Danube is not by me.” Brahms’ envy highlights Strauss’s effortless genius, as Strauss himself reflected. “Music is the most beautiful of all arts, for it is no more than feeling itself,” a sentiment that captures his intuitive blend of technical prowess and emotional immediacy.

Strauss’ operettas further cemented his fame, as he ventured into the theatrical realm with Die Fledermaus (1874) and Der Zigeunerbaron (1885). These sparkling confections, which premiered at the Theatre an der Wien, fused waltz rhythms with satirical plots, poking fun at Viennese high society while offering escapist fantasies.   

A Life of Contrasts

Yet, Strauss’ personal life was far less buoyant. Three marriages marked by scandal, including his 1886 citizenship change to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for his third wife, left him isolated, dying childless in 1899 from pneumonia. “Happy is he who can forget what cannot be changed anymore,” he once wrote and set to music.

Through it all, the music of Strauss II embodied resilience. The theatre scholar Anke Charton argued in the University of Vienna lecture series “Strauss Topographies” that his oeuvre reflects Vienna’s socio-cultural pulse, “ranging from Biedermeier domesticity to fin-de-siècle decadence.”

Even Ralph Vaughan Williams, no fan of “salonesque miniatures,” conceded that “a waltz of Johann Strauss is good music in its proper place.” And that proper place was the ballroom, the concert hall, and the silver screen, all ensuring Strauss’ immortality.   

A Golden Milestone

Johann Strauss II

In 1894, Johann Strauss celebrated his golden jubilee year as a composer and conductor, and responding to an official toast, said, “The distinctions which you bestow upon me today I owe to my predecessors, my father and Joseph Lanner. They indicated to me the means by which progress is possible, through the broadening of the forms, and that is my single small contribution.”

The composer openly acknowledged that the fundamental structure of the Viennese waltz had been developed, expanded, and formalised by the elder Strauss and Lanner. Strauss II did, however, extend the form and provided greater coherence to each composition.

As scholars write, Strauss II developed the introduction to provide almost symphonic music, and “the waltz themes themselves were expanded melodically and harmonically to produce a seemingly homogenous entity.” In addition, the coda was lengthened to give balance to the whole. His masterly orchestration prompted Brahms to remark that “there is now no one who is as sure as he is in such matters.” 

Vienna’s Heartbeat

Johann Strauss Junior’s legacy is woven into the cultural fabric of Vienna and the world, his music embodying the spirit of an era while transcending time. Elevating the waltz from a simple dance to a symphonic art form, his compositions are not mere tunes but sonic portraits of 19th-century Vienna.

Strauss’ genius lay in his ability to distil complex emotions into accessible, unforgettable melodies, performed with his orchestra’s signature blend of precision and spirited warmth. His music became the heartbeat of Viennese society, played in glittering ballrooms and public gardens, uniting aristocrats and commoners in shared delight.

Strauss’ legacy also endures in the institutions and traditions he inspired, which continue to thrive in 2025. The Vienna Philharmonic, closely tied to the Strauss family, remains a custodian of his music, with its New Year’s Concert a global phenomenon. 

Music Uniting Generations

Monument of Johann Strauss II

Museums like the House of Strauss at Casino Zögernitz and the Johann Strauss Museum in Vienna preserve his manuscripts, instruments, and personal artefacts, offering glimpses into his creative process and the vibrant world he inhabited.

These spaces, alongside initiatives like the Vienna Institute for Strauss Research, underscore his role as a cultural titan whose music reflected and shaped Vienna’s identity as a musical capital. To be sure, his compositions have permeated popular culture, spawning modern reinterpretations in concerts and digital media.

Strauss’s ability to evoke joy and nostalgia ensures his music remains a living legacy. His bicentennial transcends nostalgia, as it interrogates his relevance. In a fragmented world, his waltzes foster communal joy, much as they did amid 19th-century upheavals.