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 1830s, when Strauss was pre-eminent in the ballrooms of Biedermeier Vienna. They include melodies from Auber’s opera The Ambassadress, a Galop based on the Cachucha, a Spanish dance which caused a stir in Vienna during 1837 and the Carneval in Paris Galopp, described at the time as ‘an irresistible invitation to the dance... [combining] French vivacity with German geniality’.