Waltz occurring? Rivals make pitch for Strauss legacy

As Vienna celebrates the 200th anniversary of the dance king's birth, venues compete for the punters

- Vanessa Thorpe

The music of Johann Strauss streams through Vienna like the stately Danube. Even the syllables of the composer's name beat out the rhythm of a waltz, as all Austrian dance teachers know. In their lessons, the words "Jo-hann Strauss" are often swapped in to replace the conventional "one, two, three" step count.

Viennese children learn to waltz just like they learn to ride a bike. Just as well, because the city is still famous as the home of a 19th-century dance craze that shaped its image. In this 200th anniversary year of the birth of the "waltz king", there are rival bids jostling to become the focus of the swirling celebrations.

"His music was for everyone, of every class and background. People danced to it at grand balls but also at private parties and at home," said Eduard Strauss, the composer's great-grand-nephew. "He really was the first pop star." As a descendant of Johann's youngest brother, also Eduard, he's batting for the Strauss bicentenary venue he thinks has more authenticity than most: a museum set up inside a small dance hall, or casino, where the musician conducted his own hit waltzes for his fans. "It is an original and I am an original," Eduard says, adding that the building, now the House of Strauss museum, was important not just for its music, but as a place to keep warm and meet people on dark evenings.