Johann Strauss I & II Essentials

Johann Strauss the younger didn't just go into the family business; he dove headlong into the populist style of his father. Johann I distinguished himself with catchy and stomping fare like the "Radetzky-Marsch" as well as a steady stream of waltzes; Johann the younger also became known for light, high-kicking music. Even better were the offspring's operettas, as with the delectably comic Die Fledermaus, which remains in the operatic repertoire today. For an intergenerational blast of rollicking spirits, you can't do better than this family of composers.