Émile Waldteufel was a French pianist, conductor and composer of dance music. Émile Waldteufel (German for forest devil) was born in Strasbourg to a Jewish Alsatian family of musicians. The original surname of the family was Lévy. His father Louis had a respected orchestra, and his brother Léon was a successful performer. When Léon won a place to study violin performance at the Conservatoire de Paris, the family followed him there. It was in Paris that Waldteufel spent the rest of his life.