Josef Strauss

Josef Strauss (August 20, 1827 - July 22, 1870) was an Austrian composer. He was fondly referred to as 'Pepi' by his family and close friends.

The son of Johann Strauss I and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss, he was born in Vienna. He worked initially as an engineer and designer before joining the family orchestra in the 1850s. His academic achievements at an early age do not point to him being a composer as he was also destined by his father for a career in the Austrian Hapsburg military although he flourished as an architect for the Vienna City Council in 1853 and even presented to the Vienna Municipal Council with detailed plans for a street-cleaning machine.

He was clearly reluctant to deputise for his brother Johann Strauss II when his elder brother was taken seriously ill in 1853 as his first ever published work "Die Ersten und Letzten" (The First and the Last) tangibly displayed signs that he was not intending to maintain that position for long. The waltz-loving Viennese, however, were appreciative of his early waltzes and polkas and he decided to continue plying his trade in the family craft of composing waltzes and other dance music. He married Caroline Pruckmayer at the church of St Johann Nepomuk in Vienna on 8 June 1857 and had only one daughter, Karoline Anna, who was born on 27th March 1858.

Josef Strauss never enjoyed good health throughout his life and during a tour to Poland in 1870, he fell unconscious from the conductor's podium while conducting his 'Musical Potpourri' and was hastened back to his home in Vienna by his distraught wife. It was back home in the 'Hirschenhaus' that Josef died on July 22 of 1870. A final diagnosis only reported a decomposition of blood which led to many rumors that he was beaten by drunken Russian soldiers after he allegedly refused to perform music for them one night although his death would not be ascertained as his widow even forbade an autopsy.

He wrote many waltzes, many of them still in the classical repertoire including "Sphären-Klänge" (Music of the Spheres), "Delirien" (Deliriums), "Transaktionen" (Transactions), "Mein Lebenslauft ist Lieb und Lust" (My Character is Love and Joy) and "Dorfschwalben Aus Osterreich" (Village Swallows from Austria), polkas (most famously the "Pizzicato Polka" with his brother Johann II), quadrilles and other dance music. His pieces tend to be of a more serious character than those of his siblings. This was reflected in the waltz "Dynamiden" where his use of minor keys imparted an almost wistful quality and invariably distinguished his waltzes from that of his more popular elder brother. He most probably stamped his personal mark on the polka-mazurka where he wrote many imperishable examples like "Die Emancipirte" and "Die Libelle". His amazing output of dance pieces would have surpassed that of his elder brother, had he survived, as Johann was by then concentrating on writing music for operettas and other stage works.

Works of Josef Strauss

• Die Ersten Und Letzten ('The First and the Last') waltz op. 1 (1853)
• Die Ersten Nach Dem Letzten ('The First after the Last') waltz op. 12 (1854)
• Die Guten, Alten Zeiten ('The Good Old Times') waltz op. 26 (1856)
• Perlen Der Liebe ('Pearls of Love') concert-waltz op. 39 (1857)
• Moulinet ('Little Mill Pond') polka-mazurka op. 57 (1858)
• Sympathie ('Sympathy') polka-mazurka op. 73 (1859)
• Lustschwärmer ('Joy Seeker') waltz op. 91 (1860)
• Wiener Bonmots ('Viennese Bon-mots') waltz op. 108 (1861)
• Winterlust ('Winter Joy') polka op. 121 (1862)
• Auf Ferienreisen! ('On a Holiday!') polka op. 133 (1863)
• Die Schwätzerin ('The Gossip') polka-mazurka op. 144 (1863)
• Wiener Couplets ('Viennese Couplets') waltz op. 150 (1863)
• Dorfschwalben Aus Österreich ('Village Swallows from Austria') waltz op. 164 (1864)
• Frauenherz ('A Woman's Heart') polka-mazurka op. 166 (1864)
• Sport-Polka op. 170 (1864)
• Geheimne Anziehungskräfte (Dynamiden) ('Mysterious Powers of Magnetism') waltz op. 173 (1865)
• Stiefmütterchen ('Pansies') polka-mazurka op. 183 (1865)
• Transaktionen ('Transactions') waltz op. 184 (1865)
• Die Marketenderin ('The Camp Follower') polka op. 202 (1866)
• Die Libelle ('The Dragonfly') polka-mazurka op. 204 (1866)
• Delirien ('Deliriums') waltz op. 212 (1867)
• Sphärenklänge ('Music of the Spheres') op. 235 (1868)
• Eingesendet ('Letters to the Editor') polka op. 240 (1868)
• Plappermäulchen ('Chatterboxes') polka op. 245 (1868)
• Aquarellen ('Watercolours') waltz op. 258 (1869)
• Eislauf ('Ice-Skating') polka op. 261 (1869)
• Mein Lebenslauf Ist Lieb` Und Lust! ('My Character is Love and Joy') waltz op. 263 (1869)
• Die Tanzende Muse ('The Dancing Muse') polka-mazurka op. 266 (1869)
• Feuerfest! ('Fire-Proof!') polka op. 269 (1869)
• Ohne Sorgen! ('Without a Care!') polka op. 271 (1869)
• Nilfluthen ('Nile's Waters') waltz op. 275 (1870)
• Jokey ('Jockey') polka op. 278 (1870)
• Die Emancipierte ('The Emancipated Woman') polka-mazurka op. 282 (1870)

Works with Strauss brothers

• Hinter den Coulissen quadrille (Behind the Scenes) (with Johann Strauss II) (1859)
• Monstre quadrille (with Johann Strauss II) (1861)
• Pizzicato-Polka (with Johann Strauss II) (1869)
• Trifoilen ('Trifles') (with Johann II and Eduard Strauss) (1865)
• Schützen ('Sharpshooter') (with Johann II and Eduard Strauss) (1866)

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