"[
Josef] is the more gifted of us two; I am merely the more popular…" - Johann Strauss II on his brother.
 |
| l.to r.: Eduard, Johann II, and Josef Strauss |
"Josef Strauss (1827 - 1870)was trained as an engineer, and worked for the city of Vienna. He received several patents for various devices, and, it was only when his elder brother, Johann II, became ill from over-work, that he reluctantly took over - temporarily, he thought - the leadership of the Strauss orchestra. However, his creative mind soon caused Johann to envy him, and to acknowledge him the most talented of the three brothers." Josef's best-known composition are the waltzes
Village Swallows from Austria (1864),
The Mysterious Powers of Magnetism (1865) and
Music of the Spheres (1868) as well as co-writing the Pizzicato-Polka (1869) with his brother Johann.
Get this collection in one Spotify playlist: Marco Polo - Josef Strauss Edition (290 tracks, 26 albums, total time: 26 hours). Ctrl (CMD) + G to browse in
album view. See
Naxos for album list and liner notes.
