Lanner, Joseph

CHOIR CONDUCTOR, COMPOSER, VIOLINIST (AUSTRIA)
BORN 12 Apr 1801, Wien: St. Ulrich - DIED 14 Apr 1843, Wien: Gymnasiumstraße 87, Oberdöbling
CAUSE OF DEATH typhus
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, Simmering (Gruppe 32 A, Nummer 16)

Joseph Lanner was instrumental in transforming the waltz from a peasant dance to a high society occupation. He taught himself the violin and started a string quartet that bor his name. By 1824 he conducted a small orchestra that played dance music. It was such a success that by 1832 he asked Johan Strauss to lead a smaller deputy orchestra to be able to answer all carnival requests.

Strauss soon ended the business partnership and they became rivals, although in pratice they often cooperated. By the early 1840s Strauss was far more popular than Lanner and he travelled through Europe. Lanner continued to work in Vienna because he doubted that other countries would want to hear Viennese waltzes.

In 1828 he had married Franziska Jahns. Their daughter Katharina became a well known dancer and their son August was a composer. From 1838 onwards he lived with Marie Kraus, the daughter of a butcher. In 1842 he formally divorced his wife.

In 1843 Lanner was infected with typhus and he died on Aril 14th of that year. He was buried at the Alte Döblinger Friedhof in Vienna. After his death his son Joseph Carl Maria Kraus was born. In 1904 his remains were transferred to the Zentralfriedhof.

Family
• Daughter: Lanner, Katti

Related persons
• was a friend of Strauss, Johann (The Elder)

Images

The old tombstones of Johann Strass The Elder and Joseph Lanner at the Strauss-Lanner Park in Vienna.
Picture by Androom (23 Aug 2005)

 

The grave of Joseph Lanner at the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (25 Aug 2005)

 

Sources
• Budig, Robert S. et al, Ehrengräber am Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Compress Verlag Wien, Wien
Joseph Lanner - Wikipedia (EN)


Lanner, Katti

Published: 31 Jan 2016
Last update: 18 Aug 2022