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CARNIVAL STRAUSS DYNASTY Episode Three: THE LATTER
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
NLWM No 39 22/01/2026
The next heir to the throne was... an engineer, Josef. He worked for the City of Vienna. His father, Johann I, wanted him to choose a military career. But he designed a horse-drawn revolving brush street-sweeping vehicle. Meanwhile, he published two textbooks on mathematical subjects. And he played with his brothers in the Strauss Orchestra too. In his free time.
He was known as 'Pepi' in his family. Johann II The Great once said: Pepi is more gifted of us two: I am merely the more popular... When the more popular brother became seriously ill in 1853, Josef led the orchestra for a while. And so it remains.
His first published work was the waltz The First and The Last. After that, he wrote 283 valuable works with opus numbers. The most famous of them is Pizzicato Polka, composed together with his brother Johann II. But Josef was sick most of his life. During a tour in 1870 in Warsaw, conducting his Musical Potpourri, he fell from the podium, striking his head. And fell forever.
Third Brother on The Throne
Also, Eduard had no choice. The throne couldn't be empty. So he took the reins in his hands, as well as the title of Imperial Ball Director. His family nickname was 'Edi'. Does that sound a bit endearing but also – patronizing and belittling?
Primarily recognized as a dance music conductor, he was overshadowed by his elder brother – Johann II The Great. His style was individual. He stamped his own mark with the quick polkas (so-called in German the 'polka-schnell'). However, he also found time to pen a few lovely waltzes.
The pinnacle of his career was a major tour of the United States in 1899. In 1901, he retired from public life and music activity, although he did document his family memoirs. Unfortunately, he also presided over the burning of many Strauss family manuscripts, which he considered not worth keeping. Well, it is known that beautiful is not what is beautiful, but what someone likes. It was a huge life mistake.
Last But Not Least
The last of the Strauss Dynasty was Johann III (1866-1939). He was the grandson of Johann I (1804-1849) but the son of Eduard (1835-1916). His father disbanded the Strauss Orchestra in 1901. His uncle, Johann II The Great, supervised his music development.
Despite his keen interest in composing, he was better remembered as a conductor. His only operetta 'Cat & Mouse' was not a success with critics or audiences. So severely that he published his next works (waltzes, of course!) under a pseudonym.
Not Easy to Equal the Legends
Johann III also conducted from the violin in the style of his family. In 1903, he elevated family tradition to a new age. As the first ever, he recorded eight single-side records of works by his family with Deutsche Grammophon. He also conducted the legendary Vienna Philharmonic.
His later works, such as The World Belongs to the Brave, Under the Linden Trees and Coronation Waltz (celebrating the coronation of King Edward VII of the UK) were considerably more popular than his earlier efforts.
Finis Coronat Opus
- The End Crowns the Work (or ParaCrowl Corpus) – wrote Ovidius
200 years passed since Johann I was born. The multinational Habsburg Dynasty's Empire became a thing of the past with the end of WWI (1914-1918). Austria is a republic and a significant though not very large European country. They cherish their rich history.
So the Strauss Dynasty ended. But their music has stayed alive with us. Not in museums or textbooks. On the concert stages and dancing floors. Their scepter was the violin and their baton – the bow.
And Vienna is still the Everlasting Capital of the Waltz!
Enough words.
Let us play:
Josef Strauss - Waltz Op. 1: Die Ersten und Letzten
&
Johann & Josef Strauss - Pizzicato-Polka
Written by
Cezary Owerkowicz
Co-founder of Kuwait Music Academy and
Director of Treasure of Talents Festival in Kuwait
