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_.