The melodies and ballroom dances of Johann Strauss II, with their lilting and energetic rhythms, and gleaming and inventive instrumentation, appear as fresh today as when they were first unveiled. Remarkably, this year marks the 200th anniversary of Vienna’s “waltz king”—so sit back and enjoy the works which made him admired and even envied by such famous composers of his time as Brahms and Wagner. Johann Strauss II (1825-99) was master not only of the waltz, but an array of ballroom favorites—you might recognize the exhilarating polkas “Unter Donner und Blitz” or “Tritsch-Tratsch,” not to mention the playful “Pizzicato-Polka.” He also enjoyed success writing for the stage—his ever-fresh masterpiece of operetta, Die Fledermaus (The Bat), has joined his most celebrated dances to become a beloved New Year fixture. Strauss did not stop there, but went on to write Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), a work he initially conceived as a serious, full-scale opera—here you can sample his broodingly dramatic overture to this great and still underestimated work. Whether with the luscious waltz The Beautiful Blue Danube, the captivating Roses from the South, or the cheeky aria “Mein Herr, Marquis” (the Laughing Song), Strauss continues to captivate audiences with his life-enhancing music.