The Strauss Dynasty and Habsburg Vienna

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'David Wyn Jones's masterful biography gives the Strauss dynasty the place it deserves in the cultural and political history of nineteenth-century Europe. Combining meticulous research with vivid storytelling, Jones shows that the Strauss 'brand' was not only an extraordinary collective achievement, but also an essential backdrop to the final decades of the Habsburg Empire. Fascinating, informative, and eminently readable.' Erica Buurman, Director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies and Assistant Professor of Music, San Jose State University 'David Wyn Jones's biography of the Strauss family persuasively supports his assertion that 'the Strauss brand was more important than any one individual'. In his ambition to recapture this music and its meanings for us today, he has written a rigorously researched and lively study that can be recommended without reservation.' Derek B. Scott, Emeritus Professor of Music, University of Leeds 'According to David Wyn Jones, 'the Strauss brand was more important than any one individual'. In this lucid and often revealing joint biography - there are affairs and rivalries alongside the music - he shows how Johann and his three sons, Johann, Josef and Eduard, were at the centre of Habsburg cultural life for more than a century.' New Statesman 'Thoroughly researched and a pleasure to read.' Patrick Rucker, Gramophone '... a meticulous, well-researched study of the Strauss family ... Recommended.' M. N.-H. Cheng, Choice