Vienna (维也纳) is a beautiful old city on the river Danube. It's the centre of European (欧洲的) 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(华尔兹). His waltzes made him famous all over Europe.

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

    Mozart was born in Austria in 1756. Before he was six he played not only the piano, but also the violin. He wrote his first opera (歌剧) at the age of 12 and hundreds of beautiful pieces of classical music. But he died in 1791 when he was only 35. Some people say he was the greatest European composer.