Austria 100 Schilling Silver Coin 1975 Johann Strauss the Younger
Commemorative issue: 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Johann Strauss the Younger, Composer
Obverse: The famous golden statue of Johann Strauss with violin in Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria.
Edge Description: Plain with engraved lettering.
Lettering: * 1825 JOHANN STRAUSS 1899 * 1975.
Reverse: Face value within a circle of the nine shields of the federal provinces of Austria, Coat of arms of Austria above the face value.
Lettering: · REPUBLIK · 100 SCHILLING ÖSTERREICH.
Engraver: Edwin Grienauer.
Composition: Silver (.640).
ASW: 0.4938 oz.
Weight: 23.93 g.
Diameter: 36 mm.
Shape: Round.
Johann Strauss, the Younger
Johann Strauss II (October 25, 1825 – June 3, 1899), also known as Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, the Son (German: Sohn), Johann Baptist Strauss, was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely then responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.
Strauss was the eldest son of the composer Johann Strauss the Elder. Because his father wished him to follow a nonmusical profession, he started his career as a bank clerk. He studied the violin without his father’s knowledge, however, and in 1844 conducted his own dance band at a Viennese restaurant. In 1849, when the elder Strauss died, Johann combined his orchestra with his father’s and went on a tour that included Russia (1865–66) and England (1869), winning great popularity. In 1870 he relinquished leadership of his orchestra to his brothers, Josef and Eduard, in order to spend his time writing music. In 1872 he conducted concerts in New York City and Boston.
Strauss’s most famous single composition is An der schönen blauen Donau (1867; The Blue Danube), the main theme of which became one of the best-known tunes in 19th-century music. His many other melodious and successful waltzes include Morgenblätter (1864; Morning Papers), Künstlerleben (1867; Artist’s Life), Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (1868; Tales from the Vienna Woods), Wein, Weib und Gesang (1869; Wine, Women and Song), Wiener Blut (1871; Vienna Blood), and Kaiserwaltzer (1888). Of his nearly 500 dance pieces, more than 150 were waltzes. Among his stage works, Die Fledermaus (1874; The Bat) became the classical example of Viennese operetta. Equally successful was Der Zigeunerbaron (1885; The Gypsy Baron). Among his numerous other operettas are Der Karneval in Rom (1873; The Roman Carnival) and Eine Nacht in Venedig (1883; A Night in Venice).