The undisputed master of Viennese dance forms, “those irresistible waltzes that first catch the ear, and then curl round the heart, until suddenly they invade the legs”, Johann Strauss II became the most popular musician of his generation. His publishers printed countless copies of his sheet music, making it possible for anyone who had access to a piano to play his compositions at social gatherings or simply for enjoyment at home. Concert pianists in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century added to Strauss’s popularity by creating paraphrases and transcriptions of many of his works. The examples gathered together on this disc include solo piano performances, as well as duo-piano transcriptions and one recording on four pianos.  A number of these historic recordings appear for the first time on compact disc.