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. The evocative, even racy, names Strauss gave to many of his waltzes often referred to the celebrities or special occasions for which they were written. The Cecilia Waltzes , composed for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde’s 1840 ball, quotes music from the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata by Beethoven, one of the society’s first honorary members, while paying tribute to the patron saint of music. Reminiscence of Liszt celebrated that composer’s visit to Vienna in 1846. Palm Branches , Cupid’s Arrows , Electric Sparks , The Venetian Carnival , German Joy and Apollo Waltzes are each splendidly entertaining dances from the composer unforgettably dubbed Mädchenherzenbegeisterer, “the one who sets girls’ hearts aflutter”.