Waves of the Danube was first published in Bucharest in 1880. It was dedicated to Emma Gebauer, the wife of music publisher Constantin Gebauer. Composer Emile Waldteufel made an orchestration of the song in 1886, which was performed for the first time at the 1889 Paris Exposition, and took the audience by storm. It won the march prize at the exhibition, out of 116 entries.

Waves of the Danube became known in the United States only half a century later. Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin published it in 1946 under the name of 'The Anniversary Song' ("Oh, how we danced on the night we were wed") and as their own composition. The 1946 sheet music of the song credits the composers as Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin with music by Josif Ivanovici. Jolson and Chaplin wrote the lyrics while Chaplin adapted Ivanovici's music.

Josif Ivanovici (1845-1902) was a Romanian military band leader and composer of Serbian origin, best remembered today for his waltz Waves of the Danube.

He was born in Timişoara and his interest in music began after he learned to play the flute as a child. Later, he enrolled in the 6th Army Regiment, where he also learned to play the clarinet and his talent for music soon led him to become among the best musicians in the regiment, and he continued to study with Emil Lehr, one of the most prominent musicians of the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Ivanovici later became a bandmaster, toured Romania, and in 1900 he was appointed the Inspector of Military Music, a position that he held until his death. Although today Ivanovici is chiefly remembered for his waltz Waves of the Danube (Donauwellen in German), in his lifetime he composed over 350 dances, and his works were published by over sixty publishing houses throughout the world.

Tony Osborne is an important educationalist and prolific composer who has made a significant and unique contribution to the double bass repertoire over the past 35 years. His solo music for young bassists is included by many international examination boards, and his many ensembles pieces are performed at workshops and concerts throughout the world. Tony Osborne notes the influences of Gershwin, Copland and Bernstein, alongside some of the Russian masters, on his music, which he combines with a jazzy, rhythmic and energetic style that has been popular with players and audiences worldwide.

Born in 1947 into a musical family, Tony Osborne studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with John Walton (double bass) and Richard Stoker (composition), and divides a busy career between composing, teaching and performing. A very prolific composer and arranger, Tony's original compositions include works in almost every genre, notably Chaconne Syncopations and Wainwright's Ways for brass quintet, Celebration Fanfare for brass ensemble, the musical A Fine Time for Wine, a beautiful and dramatic Requiem and many works for string orchestra.

In 2001 Tony Osborne was elected an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for his pioneering and important work for double bass, and has been a featured composer at Bass-Fest for the past decade. He was a very successful BIBF Composer-in-residence in 2002-3 and wrote a number of impressive and innovative works for the project. He has been a judge for the British Composer Awards over the past few years and has been a judge for the BIBF Composition Competition since 1999. Recital Music held a festival of Tony Osborne's music in 2012, to celebrate the composer's 65th birthday, and has formulated a 10-year project to publish all his works for double bass.
www.tony-osborne.com