Lanner, Joseph Franz Karl

Born Apr. 12, 1801, in Vienna; died Apr. 14, 1843, in Oberdöbling, near Vienna. Austrian composer, conductor, and violinist.

Lanner taught himself music. In 1819 he formed an ensemble, and in 1824, an orchestra, for which he wrote dance music (more than 200 works). He was one of the creators of a new type of dance music, the Viennese waltz, which became extremely popular because of its melodic expressiveness, elegance, and rhythmic flexibility. Lanner gave the waltz a cyclic form (a chain of five waltzes). His music is related to Austrian urban folk tunes and to the music of the Viennese classical composers. Lanner was a significant influence on both Strausses (father and son) and other composers who wrote light music.