On this day, 221 years ago, on March 14, 1804 (February 3, 1804 in the lunar calendar), the Austrian composer Johann Strauss was born. Johann Strauss Sr.(1825-1899) was an Austrian composer. He was born on March 14, 1825 in a family of musicians in Vienna. His father, Strauss, wrote more than 150 waltzes, laying the foundation for the Vienna waltzes and is known as the "father of waltzes". Strauss taught himself violin and composition. In 1844, he built his own orchestra, played the waltz he created, and served as conductor. In 1849, he toured China and traveled to European and American countries to perform. He composed more than 400 round dances, characterized by rapid rhythm with rotating steps, and is known as the "King of Waltz". Representative works include "The Blue Danube","The Story of the Vienna Forest","The Sound of Spring","The Career of an Artist", etc. In the second half of his life, Strauss was mainly engaged in composing operetta. The 16 operetta he created, including "Cotton Bat" and "Gypsy Baron", created the special work of art of Vienna operetta. Therefore, he was also the "father of operetta." Painful childhood On March 14, 1804, the first Johann Strauss was born. At that time, the midwife was delayed by ice and snow. If he were a step later, this weak child would have been unable to connect with this world. The child's father was Franz Strauss. He ran a small wine restaurant on the sandbank of the Danube River. Shortly after his second marriage, his body floated in the Danube River. People speculated that he committed suicide. John lost his biological mother when he was seven years old. Now that his father died, he had to live with his stepmother in that inn. In the future, the stepmother couldn't help but marry again. Fortunately, his stepfather, Gold, was a kind person and liked John very much. At that time, some musicians who walked around the streets were often recruited into hotels to perform. The sound of music opened up a spiritual paradise for John. Gold noticed his child's fascination with music, so he gave him a violin as a gift on John's Day. This violin was not much better than a toy, but soon John discovered that by pouring some beer into the two "f" holes in the violin, it could somewhat improve its dry tone. In school, he always put the violin under his desk, and during the short break between classes, he would pick up the violin and play it for a while. Because the violin constantly distracted him, his studies were very poor. At the age of 13, his stepfather decided that the child should learn a trade, so he handed John over to a book binder. But John refused to do this kind of work. He cried and made a fuss, and the master locked him in the storeroom. The binder's wife took pity on the unruly child and set John free while her husband was away. John grabbed his violin and ran away. He ran towards the Vienna Forest. There were many hotels and inns there, and he believed that he could earn a living with his violin. John felt very tired after running around all day and excessive excitement. Holding my beloved violin, I fell asleep on the green hillside. Perhaps it was a coincidence of fate that a musician named Herr Polyansky went out for a walk in the evening and found John sleeping here. The musician was very interested in the toy-like violin and shook the child awake. After a while, the two of them started chatting happily about music. John met a bosom friend for the first time. Poliansky was very confident in the child's talent and agreed to teach John for free. The musician persuaded John to go home and promised to intercede with his stepfather so that the child could choose a career as a musician. Under the guidance of his teacher, John mastered various techniques of violin playing with an almost natural talent, and soon exceeded what Poliansky could teach. At the age of 15, John became a violinist in Vienna's most famous dance band, the Michael Palmer Orchestra. Making his mark in the Palmer Orchestra, John befriended the talented musician Joseph Lanna. Later, Lanna started the small band himself, and John served as the violist in the small band. Their humble band can only perform in small cafes, and the remuneration they receive is often not enough to make ends meet. Strauss is the youngest member of the small band. After each performance, he still has to hold a plate and ask customers for charity. This is really an embarrassing thing. Finally, the hardships came to an end. Combining Lanna's melodious tones with Strauss's melodious rhythm gave their work a unique and charming style that quickly won public praise. Of course, the band's success depends largely on Lanna's waltz. On some special occasions, Lanna had to temporarily compose a new movement. One day, Lanna fell ill, and he asked Strauss to lead the band in rehearsal. "But what about that new movement?" Strauss said in surprise. "Then can't you write a paragraph yourself?" Strauss's first waltz was performed in the name of Lanna. The enthusiastic response from the audience to this piece made Strauss recognize his own work. Soon, he was evenly divided with Lanna in the Vienna music scene. Lanna's works are good at lyrical. Although Strauss's music is not as affectionate as Lanna's, it is often more exciting. In newspapers and magazines, in cafes, and even on the street, people talk and debate about the artistic styles of these two composers. Because the public used to regard them as competitors in the music industry, they gradually separated the pair of friends. In the autumn of 1825, open conflict finally broke out. One night, two friends got into a fight. A scuffle broke the cello and the double cello, and even the big mirror in the hotel was shattered. A few days later, Strauss regretted it and composed a "reconciliation waltz" dedicated to Lanna. But Lanna responded with a "farewell waltz", which also used an elegy as a prelude. After that, Strauss left the band. Although the two composers privately admired each other's talents, they never showed up together again. At that time, Strauss had already made his mark in Vienna, and naturally there were many flirtatious girls who showed her affection for him. Strauss just dealt with them. But there was a beautiful black girl-Anna Strym-who attracted Strauss 'attention. Soon after, they got married. On October 25, 1825, their first child was born. At that time, if the young father had expected that his son's reputation would soon surpass his own, he might not have let his son use his own Christian name. After a successful career and a broken family broke up with Lanna, John regrouped. He constantly receives offers for performances and is often overwhelmed. As the number of performance invitations increased, the Strauss Orchestra continued to expand and group. By 1830, the orchestra had grown into eight bands, employing as many as 200 musicians. At night, Strauss often drove from one dance venue to another in a carriage to conduct a waltz, and then struggled to squeeze out the crowd who admired him, jumped on the carriage and sped off to another place. It was often around 3 o'clock in the morning that he could not return home. A journalist from Leipzig wrote this remarkable story for his newspaper, which spread Strauss's fame beyond Austria's borders: "¡­Under the colorful trees and arcades, there were many seats. People sat there eating, drinking, laughing, listening to music. The band was playing a soul-stirring waltz in their midst. At the command post stood the Austrian Napoleon Johann Strauss. Strauss's waltz is to the Viennese what Napoleon's victory is to the French. If the Viennese had so many cannons, they would have erected a 'Vendome Column' for him in front of the Spull Ballroom... "On the dance floor, the men hugged their female companions tightly, followed the beat, and danced. In the cheerful and enthusiastic atmosphere, they kept dancing and dancing. Even God couldn't stop them..." After Little Strauss, Anna had five more children, but Anna was not happy. Her husband stayed out all night, not only because he was busy performing, but also because he was fascinated by a woman named Emily. Anna gave her husband an ultimatum, but Strauss simply packed up his things and moved in with Emily. After that, in addition to providing 500 guilders per month for living expenses, Strauss almost broke off relations with his family. In November 1834, Strauss began his trip to Europe. With superb art, he broke the prejudices of staid Berliners and then conquered Paris. When the orchestra came to London, the performance started off badly. However, at a court ball held at Buckingham Palace, the soon-to-throne Princess Victoria took the lead in waltz to Strauss's music-this was really the strongest support for Strauss. After this, British gentlemen and ladies no longer had any scruples. The orchestra left London to perform in various places and finally achieved great success. In the late stages of the British performance, many musicians fell ill. Strauss himself was so sick that he almost died. He repeatedly begged the doctor to let him return home. Along the way, Strauss kept talking nonsense and often fell into a coma. Doctors asserted that he was hopeless. However, Strauss finally reached Austria. Anna came from Vienna to pick him up, and Strauss returned to his wife and children. After Anna's careful care, Strauss gradually recovered. However, when he no longer had to rely on Anna to take care of him, he abandoned Anna again and went to Emily. From then on, Strauss never set foot in his own home again.