In a career that spanned a period from the 1820s until his death in 1849, the older Johann Strauss established an unrivalled position for himself among composers and performers of dance music in Vienna. His own achievements were continued by his three sons, ensuring the name of Strauss was inextricably identified with the musical pleasures of nineteenth-century Vienna. The works featured on this recording date from the early 1830s, when Strauss was pre-eminent in the ballrooms of Biedermeier Vienna. They include melodies from operas by Auber and Donizetti, and Hérold’s Zampa or The Bride of Marble, which caused a sensation in Vienna in 1832.