Johann Strauss Year 2025
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Vienna is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss this year. At many locations, through exhibitions, concerts, performances, walks, events, and much more, Vienna is honoring the King of Waltz and the Queen of Music. Johann Strauss (1825–1899) is on everyone's lips during the anniversary year 2025. On the Vienna Tourism website, "Johann Strauss Year 2025" you will find a detailed overview.
I, Anna, visited one of the exhibitions with the Vienna Experts Club, specifically at the Theater Museum, which is located in the 1st district at Lobkowitzplatz, directly across from the ALBERTINA.
Theater Museum
This exhibition is small but extraordinary, offering a wealth of information about the origins, life, and work of Johann Strauss, spread across 9 rooms. In great detail and well-researched, it covers his background, career, all of his compositions, his private life, and his many travels. The walls are adorned with many original photographs, texts, posters, compositions, and more. Johann Strauss’s birthplace was at Lerchenfelderstrasse 15. The building no longer exists, but a commemorative plaque (Johann Strauss Memorial Plaque) marks the spot.
His death house was located on Igelgasse in the 4th district. 24 years before his death, he bought two plots there. In 1875 he had has built the Strauss Palais, a two-story palace with a Renaissance facade. Today, the street is named Johann-Strauß-Gasse. The Strauss Palais was almost completely destroyed by bombs in the fall of 1944 and had to be demolished. In its place, a new residential building was constructed. A commemorative plaque is also placed at this location.
Danube Waltz
During his career he lived at various location, including a representative bourgeois building, located in Praterstraße 54, where he stayed since 1863 for 38 years. At this address, he lived with his second wife, Jetty, on the Beletage, the most elegant and prestigious floor, where he represented his high status at the peak of his career. It was the place, where he composed one of the most famous pieces of music in the world, An der schönen blauen Donau, also known as the BlueDanube Waltz. The beautiful living and working spaces of the original apartment are now a memorial to the musician – the Johann Strauss Apartment.
Musician & Entertainer
In 1870, he moved out again – this time to Hietzing, to Maxingstraße. It was in this summer villa that Die Fledermaus, one of his most famous operettas, was created. A commemorative plaque (Johann Strauss Memorial Plaque) can also be found at this address. Johann Strauss was a gifted musician and entertainer. He was extremely popular, married three times, had love affairs, but never had children of his own. In one of the 9 rooms of the museum, visitors can interactively explore the composition of a piece of music on two screens by changing the size of the orchestra (strings only, small chamber ensemble, reduced orchestra, full orchestra with 40-80 musicians). At a round table in the middle of another room, visitors can enjoy various compositions with headphones, and after immersing themselves in Johann Strauss's world, continue exploring the other rooms.
Travels
A dedicated chapter is devoted to the travels of Johann Strauss, from Russia to the USA. Everywhere he performed, he was able to captivate the audience to the fullest. In 1872, a spectacular music festival took place in Boston with over 100,000 spectators and concerts featuring 2,000 musicians. The world’s music stars were brought to the USA, including the Waltz King, Johann Strauss. He became a celebrated star (How Strauss Made the USA Dance). The book Johann Strauss’ American Journey (Molden) describes an adventurous journey through a vibrant era.
Well, I don't want to reveal too much about the exhibition at the Theater Museum. I highly recommend this exhibition to anyone who wants to gain in-depth and extensive knowledge about Johann Strauss. The exhibition is very clearly structured and provides a broad spectrum of his personality and work. The entrance fee also grants access to the other exhibitions at the Theater Museum (currently Spielräume: Bühnenformen im Modell, Nuda Veritas – Gustav Klimt, Richard Teschner’s Figurenspiegel).
Johann Strauss – New Dimensions
For those who prefer more "action" and "interaction" and less reading, I recommend the exhibition Johann Strauss – New Dimensions. This exhibition offers an immersive experience of the King of Waltz. It is more "surface-level" in terms of in-depth knowledge but offers more show effects. However, his four most famous operettas (Die Fledermaus, Eine Nacht in Venedig, Der Zigeunerbaron, Wiener Blut) are given their deserved focus, and visitors can calmly listen to the music with headphones while following the moving images of the storyline. One truly feels transported to his time. This section of the exhibition brings you back down to earth.
House of Strauss
Weiters gibt es noch eine sehr interessante Ausstellung über Johann Strauß’s Leben und Schaffen und zwar im Casino Zögernitz in der Döblinger Hauptstraße. Die Ausstellung heißt House of Strauss und ist sowohl informativ als auch interaktiv. Hier erfährt man mehr über seine Herkunft und seine Familie und seine Zeitgenossen. Seinen zwei Brüdern, ebenfalls begabte Komponisten, wird hier ebenfalls Platz eingeräumt. Weiters gibt es einige sehr lustige interaktive Stationen.
Am Ende der Ausstellung wird der Besucher in den original getreuen Konzertsaal des Casino Zögernitz, House of Strauss Wien ‚geführt‘ und ein Nachfahre von Johann Strauß Sohn lässt den King of waltz noch einmal in amüsanten Geschichten Revue passieren. Den Abschluss bildet der weltbekannte Donauwalzer. An der schönen blauen Donau, Walzer, Op. 314 und der Zuhörer schwebt, leicht lächelnd, über den Wolken.
Nun, liebe Gäste, lassen Sie sich im Jubiläumsjahr 2025 auf Johann Strauß ein und ich wünsche allen ein schönes Erleben!
Ihre Anna
