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Musicians in Vienna

Vienna is a beautiful old city on the river Danube. It's the capital city of Austria and the centre of European classical music. From 1750 a lot of composers and musicians came to study and work in Vienna. The most famous family of musicians was the Strauss family.

There were two composers called Johann Strauss: a father and a son. The father, Johann Strauss the elder, wrote and played music for a classical dance—a waltz. His waltzes made his famous all over Europe.

The son, Johann Strauss the younger, was even more successful and popular than his father. He wrote more than 400 waltzes and his most famous one was the Blue Danube. He wrote it in 1867. Strauss and Mozart were two of the most important composers.

Mozart was bornin Austria in 1756. Before he was six he played not only the piano, but also the violin and the organ. His family took him around Europe and he gave concerts in many cities. He wrote his first opera at the age of 12 and hundreds of beautiful pieces of music for the classical orchestra. But he died in 1791 when he was only 35. Some people say he was the greatest European composer.