Franz Lehár

FRANZ LEHAR was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is most famous for his operettas – the most successful of which is The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) – but he also wrote sonatas, symphonic poems and marches. He composed a number of waltzes (the most popular being “Gold und Silber,” composed for Princess Pauline von Metternich's Gold and Silver Ball in January of 1902), some of which were drawn from his famous operettas. Individual songs from some of the operettas have become standards, notably Vilja from The Merry Widow and You Are My Heart's Delight (Dein ist mein ganzes Herz) from The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns).