The story of the Waltz Kings: today Donald Macleod charts the rise of Johann Strauss I and the emergence of the waltz from a rustic village dance into an elegant art-form sweeping Europe.

From its origins in the simple country dancing which came down river from the Black Forest, the waltz grew to become the signature tune of Viennese high society, and the Strauss family its most exuberant exponents. Johann Strauss the elder soon came to dominate the scene with his own high-octane orchestra and his ever-more sophisticated compositions. The highest levels of European society - including Queen Victoria - tripped the light fantastic to the music of the man who became known as the Waltz King.

Trad: Ländler aus Oberbayern
Kreuther Musikanten

J Strauss I: Tauberlin-Walzer, Op 1
Christian Pollack, conductor
Camerata Cassovia

J Strauss I: Sperls Fest-Walzer, Op 30
Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor
Slovak Sinfonietta

J Strauss I: Wilhelm Tell-Galoppe, Op 29b
Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor
Slovak Sinfonietta

J Strauss I: Hofball Tanze, Walzer, Op 51
Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor
Slovak Sinfonietta

J Strauss I: Cachucha-Galopp, Op 97
Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor
Slovak Sinfonietta

J Strauss I: Huldigung der Königin von Grossbritannien, Walzer, Op 103
John Georgiadis, director
London Symphony Orchestra

J Strauss I: Wiener Carnevals-Quadrille, Op 124
Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor
Slovak Sinfonietta

J Strauss I: Loreley-Rhein-Klänge, Walzer, Op 154
Willi Boskovsky, conductor
Wiener Philharmoniker

Producer: Dominic Jewel. Show less