"Placing the Strauss dynasty firmly within the shifting context of social, political and cultural life in Habsburg Vienna, this zesty new biography reveals the four composers as never before, re-evaluating their music and musical achievements in Viennese society across a hundred years"--

David Wyn Jones is Emeritus Professor of Music at Cardiff University. He has written extensively on music and musical life in Vienna, including biographies of Haydn (2009) and Beethoven (1998). The relationship between music and society in three different epochs is explored in Music in Vienna, 1700, 1800, 1900 (2016).

List of Illustrations; List of Tables; Preface; Eingang The depth of the Blue Danube; Presenting a biography of the Strauss family; 1. 1804-1832 Johann Strauss and the making of a tradition; 2. 1833-1849 Father and son. Travel and revolution; 3. 1850-1870 Three brothers: Johann, Josef and Eduard; 4. Dance and march: music and culture; 5. 1871-1899 Two brothers: Johann and Eduard; 6. Staging comedy: Operetta and Opera; 7. 1900-1916. One brother: Eduard; Bibliography; Index of works by Johann Strauss (father), Johann Strauss (son), Josef Strauss and Eduard Strauss; Strauss Family Tree: individuals mentioned in the biography; General Index.