Johann Strauss the Elder was one of the most popular waltz composers in Vienna.
And he did not want his son to be a musician like him.
One musician in the family was enough, he thought. Music was a hard way to make a living. And he didn’t want that life for his young son.
So when his son Johann grew up, he became a bank clerk.
But in secret, he studied the violin.
Think about how quiet that is. No stage. No applause. Just a love for something that would not go away.
In time, the music won.
Johann Strauss II was born in Vienna on October 25, 1825. He became known as the Waltz King. He wrote more than five hundred pieces, and about 150 of them were waltzes. One of them, “The Blue Danube,” dates to 1867. Even people who have never heard his name know the sound of it. His comic opera Die Fledermaus (“The Bat”) came out in 1874 and is still performed today.
He was still writing at the very end. He died in Vienna on June 3, 1899, while working on a ballet called Cinderella.
A whole life of music. And it began with a violin kept quiet in a bank clerk’s day.
Today is Sunday. It feels like a good day for a small question.
What do you still do quietly, just because you love it?
It might be a song you hum while you cook. A sketch in the margin. A little craft tucked in a drawer. Something nobody asked you to do.
You don’t have to turn it into a career. You don’t have to show anyone.
But don’t throw it away. Some small loves are not distractions. They are doors.
Play a little music today. Even if it is only in your own kitchen.
As I listen to this music, I can’t help but to think of my mom. She loved to listen to classical music and sing along with it. When I am looking for something light to play in the background as I work, I find comfort this music as well. Guess like Mother like Daughter. lol Oh, what we share with our family without even realizing it. 🙂
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