Austrian Artists  

Johann Strauss 

Johann Strauss, often referred to as Johann Strauss II, was born on October 25, 1825, in Vienna, Austria. His father, Johann Strauss the Elder, was a self-taught musician who established a musical dynasty in Vienna, writing waltzes, galops, polkas and quadrilles and publishing more than 250 works. Johann the Younger went on to write more than 500 musical musical compositions, 150 of which were waltzes, and he surpassed both his father's productivity and popularity. Compositions such as The Blue Danube helped establish Strauss as "the Waltz King" and earned hi

m a place in music history. He died in Vienna in June 1899.

Strauss began composing for the Vienna Men's Choral Association in 1847. His father died two years later, prompting him to conflate his own and his father's orchestras, after which he mounted a successful career. In 1853, Strauss fell ill, and his younger brother, Josef, took control of the orchestra for six months. After recovering, he dove back into conducting and composing activities—a pursuit that proved to be stronger than ever, gaining the eventual attention of such luminaries as Verdi, Brahms and Wagner.

An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube; 1867) would be the piece that defined Strauss to the listening public, and the work still resonates 150 years later. Other Strauss waltzes include Morgenblätter (Morning Papers; 1864), Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods; 1868) and Wein, Weib und Gesang (Wine, Women and Song; 1869).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, the young Mozart showed all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of 5 he could read and write music, and he would entertain people with his talents on the keyboard. By the age of 6 he was writing his first compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a rare musical genius, though Mozart said that he was diligent in studying other great composers such as Haydn and Bach.

During his childhood, he would frequently tour various palaces around Europe playing for distinguished guests. Aged 17, he accepted a post as a court musician in Salzburg; although this did not suit him very well, the next few years were a time of prolific composition. In 1781, he moved permanently to Vienna where he stayed for remainder of his life. In Vienna, he became well known and was often in demand as a composer and performer.

However, despite his relative fame and renown he struggled to manage his finances and moved between periods of poverty and prosperity. This difficulty was enhanced when, in 1786, Austria was involved in a war which led to lower demand for musicians. In 1782, he married against the wishes of his family; he had 6 children but only 2 survived infancy.

The work of Mozart is epic in scope and proportion. There were few branches of music Mozart did not touch. He composed operas, symphonies, concertos, and single pieces for the piano. His work spanned from joyful lighthearted pieces to powerful, challenging compositions which touched the human emotions. In the beginning of his career, Mozart had a powerful ability to learn and remember from the music he heard from others. He was able to incorporate the style and music of people such as Haydn and J.C. Bach. But, as he matured he developed his very own style and interpretations. In turn the music of Mozart very much influenced the early Beethoven

Mozart was brought up a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the church throughout his life.

Some of his greatest works are religious in nature such as ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ and the final Requiem. Mozart was very productive until his untimely death in 1791, aged 35.

In the last year of his life, he composed the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat), the Clarinet Concerto K. 622, a string quintets (K. 614 in E-flat), the famous motet Ave verum corpus K. 618, and the unfinished final Requiem K. 626.

Falco

Falco was the most internationally successful pop artist ever to come out of Austria, best known for his 1986 chart-topping hit "Rock Me Amadeus." Born Johann Holzel in Vienna on February 19, 1957, he was a classically trained child prodigy, but after graduating from the Vienna Conservatoire, he relocated to West Berlin and began fronting a jazz-rock band. Rechristening himself Falco in honor of the German skier Falko Weissflog, he returned to Vienna in time to play bass on the punk outfit Drahdiwaberl's 1979 album Psycho Today, penning their best-known song, "Ganz Wein." Falco began his solo career in 1982 with the LP Einzelhaft; his "Der Kommissar," which fused techno-pop with rapped German lyrics, became a major European hit and a club favorite in the U.S., with a cover version by the group After the Fire reaching the Top Five in 1983. The follow-up, "Jeanny," was banned outright by radio as a result of its theme of prostitution, but nevertheless went on to top the German charts. While 1984's Junge Roemer attracted little attention, in 1986 Falco issued Falco 3, highlighted by the single "Rock Me Amadeus," a campy blend of classical music and synth pop which topped both the American and British charts. While the rock ballad "Vienna Calling" was a minor hit, Falco's subsequent efforts, including 1986's Emotional and 1988's Wiener Blut, fared poorly; he had been long out of the spotlight when he died in a car accident on February 6, 1998 at the age of 40.

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was one of the most innovative and controversial artists of the early twentieth century. The son of an engraver, he studied at the State School of Applied Arts in Vienna. In the 1880s and 1890s he produced murals for public buildings -- including Vienna's Burgtheater and new Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) -- in the prevailing classical-realist style. Klimt's style grew increasingly experimental, however, and his murals for Vienna University, commissioned by the State in 1894, were roundly attacked by critics for their fantastical imagery and their bold, decorative style. Partly in response to this reaction, in 1897 Klimt helped form the Secession, a group of artists dedicated to challenging the conservative Academy of Fine Arts. Influenced by European avant-garde movements represented in the annual Secession exhibitions, Klimt's mature style combined richly decorative surface patterning with complex symbolism and allegory, often with overtly erotic content.

After 1900 he concentrated on portraits and landscapes, although he also produced two of his greatest murals during this period -- The Beethoven Frieze, exhibited at the Secession in 1902, and decorations for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels (1904-1911). Klimt spent most of his summers on the Attersee, near Salzburg, where he drew inspiration for many of his landscapes, and where he painted some of his best-known works, including The Kiss of 1907-8