Rivalry With Father

Strauss was born in Vienna, Austria, on 25 October 1825, to the famous composer Johann Strauss I. His father did not want him to become a musician but rather a banker. However, Strauss Junior studied the violin secretly as a child, ironically with the first violinist of his father’s orchestra, Franz Amon. When his father discovered this, there was a violent and unpleasant scene and that his father wanted to know nothing of his musical plans. The elder Strauss only wanted his son to escape the rigors of a musician’s life. It was only when his father left the family and took a mistress when he was 17, that Strauss II was able to concentrate fully on a career as a composer with the support of his mother.

His talents were also recognized by composer Josef Drechsler. His other violin teacher, Anton Kollmann also wrote excellent testimonials for him. Armed with these, on the very same day his mother filed a divorce from her husband, he approached the Viennese authorities to apply for a license to perform. He also started to form his small orchestra where he recruited his members.

Johann Strauss I’s influence over the local entertainment establishments meant that many of them were wary of offering the younger Strauss a contract for fear of angering the father. Strauss Jr. was able to persuade the Casino in a suburb of Vienna to allow him to perform. As a result, the local press was soon frantically reporting a ‘Strauss v. Strauss’ rivalry between the father and the son. The elder Strauss, as expected, was furious at his son’s disobedience.

Strauss II found the early years difficult, but he soon won over music-loving audiences after accepting commissions to perform away from home. The first major appointment for the young composer was his award of the honorary position of “Kapellmeister of the 2nd Vienna Citizen’s Regiment”, which had been left vacant following Josef Lanner’s death two years before. Vienna was racked by a bourgeois revolution on February 24, 1848, Strauss I actively joined the actions. As a result, the intense rivalry between father and son became even more apparent.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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