The Legacy of Johann Strauss
Political Influence and Twentieth-Century Identity

To this day, Johann Strauss, Jr remains one of the most popular composers in his native city of Vienna. In The Legacy of Johann Strauss, Zoë Alexis Lang examines how the reception of Strauss's waltzes played a key role in the construction of twentieth-century Austrian identity. Using press coverage from the centennial celebration of Strauss's birth in Vienna, Lang argues that his music remained popular because it continued to be revitalised by Austrians seeking to define their culture. Revealing the origins of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, Lang considers how Strauss was appropriated as a National Socialist icon in the 1930s and 1940s, and explores the Strauss family's Jewish ancestry, along with the infamous forgery of paperwork about their lineage during the 1940s. This book also includes a case study of Strauss's Emperor Waltz, considering its variegated usage in concerts and films from 1925 to 1953.

Introduction; 1. Johann Strauss, Jr's biography: facts and fictions; 2. The Strauss, Jr centennial (1925); 3. Johann Strauss, Jr as German; 4. Johann Strauss, Jr as Jew; 5. The Emperor Waltz in the twentieth century: a case study; Appendix A. Articles published during the 1925 Strauss, Jr centennial; Appendix B. Listing of official events for the 1925 Strauss, Jr centennial; Appendix C. Four Philharmonic Academy concerts, 1940–1941 season.

Zoë Alexis Lang is Assistant Professor of musicology in the School of Music at the University of South Florida. She graduated in 2005 from Harvard University with a dissertation that examined the importance of Johann Strauss, Jr in conceptions of Austrian identity during the interwar period. Her article about Johann Strauss, Sr's Radetzky March appeared in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. Her research has been funded by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and the National Endowment of the Humanities. Beyond Strauss and Austrian identity, her other research interests include the phenomenon of Hausmusik in German culture and popular music during the First World War.