Johann Strauss II wrote “The Blue Danube,” a waltz often played at Vienna’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Strauss composed the work in 1866, and it was first performed publicly in Vienna in 1867. Its full German title, An der schönen blauen Donau, refers to the Danube River. The piece later became one of the most recognizable works associated with Viennese musical culture.
In Austria, “The Blue Danube” is a traditional broadcast and concert selection around the New Year period. It is especially associated with the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, which is held on January 1 rather than on New Year’s Eve itself. The distinction matters because the concert and the midnight street celebrations are related but separate events.
The composer is sometimes confused with his father, Johann Strauss I, another important nineteenth-century Viennese composer. “The Blue Danube” belongs to the younger Strauss, often called the Waltz King.