Hans Christian Lumbye
Hans Christian Lumbye was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 2, 1810. As a young man he played in military bands. He then formed an orchestra of his own which achieved extraordinary fame throughout Copenhagen (specifically at the Tivoli) with light musical programs. For these concerts Lumbye produced a library of light music: waltzes, galops, polkas, marches, and so forth. This music is so filled with infectious tunes and pulsating rhythms—and they are so light in heart and spirit—that they have won for their composer the sobriquet of “The Johann Strauss of the North” and the status of Denmark’s foremost creator of semi-classical music. He died in Copenhagen on March 20, 1874.
Lumbye’s dance pieces are played wherever there is a salon, pop or café-house orchestra. Among his best waltzes are Amelie, Hesperus, and Sophie. Other successful Lumbye compositions are the Columbine Mazurka, the Champagne Galop, Concert Polka, Dream Pictures, An Evening at the Tivoli, King Frederick VII Homage March, and the Railway Galop.