Wiener Bälle - Die Welt des Walzerkönigs # 2025

A Viennese Fairy Tale...

Magical nights...

Glamour, vanity, and elegance...

Centuries of culture captured in dazzling moments.

This is the story of the Viennese waltz and its incomparable creator, Johann Strauss.

The waltz: A dance... a piece of music... and a mindset!

Johann Strauss’ grand invention conquered the world. And with his famous waltz travels a cultural institution: the quintessential Viennese ball. A night full of music, social encounters, business networking, representation, entertainment, and style.

In 2025, we celebrate the 200th birthday of the "Waltz King" with a commemorative year full of concerts, events—and this documentary.

No one dominated the ball scene of the late 19th century like the composer Johann Strauss II. With his waltzes, polkas, and marches, he created the soundtrack of the Ringstrasse era. The rising bourgeoisie, as well as the old and new aristocracy, danced and stomped to his melodies. The Musikverein was one of his hotspots—The Strauss Orchestra was in direct competition with the Vienna Philharmonic, which is one reason why the Philharmonic played so little Strauss for a long time—something almost unthinkable today.

In this film, Susanne Pleisnitzer delves into Vienna's ball culture and the historical role played by the "Waltz King" within it.