Strauss' Blue Danube

The Blue Danube (An der Schönen Blauen Donau), opus 314, was written by Johann Strauss II in 1866. This waltz has consistently been one of the most popular pieces of classical music, and is an unofficial Austrian national anthem. It is a traditional encore piece at the annual Vienna New Year's Concert, and was used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Austrian composer Johann Strauss II (1825 - 1899) wrote more than five hundred waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. He was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the nineteenth century.

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