Josef Reiter (composer)

Josef Reiter (January 19, 1862 – June 2, 1939) was an Austrian composer. He was born in Braunau am Inn and died in Bad Reichenhall.

After studying music with his father in Braunau, in 1886 he went to Vienna, where he worked as a music teacher and conductor. From 1908 to 1911 he was director of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and in 1917–18 Kapellmeister at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna. Primarily a composer of lieder and choral music, Reiter also wrote sacred music and chamber music, as well as a number of operas in a neo-Wagnerian style, none of which achieved any lasting success. "Der Bundschuh" (1897) was given by Mahler at the Hofoper in Vienna in 1901, but withdrawn after five performances. When in 1904 Reiter submitted his next opera, "Der Totentanz", for performance in Vienna, it was rejected by Mahler. "Der Tell" fared little better and was never revived.

Reiter became a staunch supporter of the Nazis during the 1920s, and in 1931 dedicated his "Goethe Symphony" to Hitler. His loyalty was rewarded with revivals of both "Der Bundschuh" and "Der Totentanz" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1938. The same year Universal Edition reissued his "Festgesang an einem Friedensfürsten" under the new title of "Festgesang an den Führer des deutschen Volkes" in celebration of the Anschluss.