Oscar Straus

Born on March 6, 1870 with a double S at the end of his last name, Oscar Straus shaved off the final consonant to demonstrate that he wasn't related to the family of the famous Waltz King. 

With a recommendation from Brahms in hand, the young Straus first studied with Hermann Grädener before moving to Berlin in 1891 for lessons with Max Bruch. Following the advice of Johann Strauss II, Straus paid his dues in the provinces, conducting in theaters around Germany and what are now the Czech Republic and Slovakia between 1893 and 1899. This is when he began writing stage works, none of which achieved immediate success, and a great many salon pieces. His first international success was A Waltz Dream in 1907, which for a while was as popular as Lehár's Merry Widow. The following year, Straus wrote Der Tapfere Soldat, known in English as The Chocolate Soldier, that permanently cemented him in the pantheon of operetta composers. In 1927 he moved to Paris, then in 1930 resettled in the United States, where he wrote several film scores.  Then it was back to France, where he became a citizen in 1939 and was awarded the Légion d'Honneur. But the war drove him back to the U.S. in 1940, where he lived in New York and Hollywood until finally settling in Bad Ischl in his homeland in 1948. All this time, he toured as a guest conductor, made recordings, and continued to compose, although his operetta output dropped off after the 1930s. Straus passed away in 1954.