Johann Strauss, the younger (1825-1899)
The nearly five hundred works of Strauss include several operettas, like
"Die Fledermaus," but he is best known as
a composer of waltzes. They were conceived as dance music but endure
as concert music. "The Blue Danube,"
probably his most famous waltz, is not a simple dance tune, but a series
of sophisticated melodies elaborately scored for full orchestra.