Josef Wagner (composer)

Josef Franz Wagner (20 March 1856 – 5 June 1908) was an Austrian military bandmaster and composer.^[1] He is sometimes known by the sobriquet 'The Austrian March King'.^[2]

He is best known for his 1902 march Unter dem Doppeladler or Under the Double Eagle, referring to the double eagle in the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary.^{[citation needed]} The march became a favourite part of the repertoire of American composer and bandleader John Philip Sousa, whose band recorded it three times.^{[3][4][citation needed]} The piece was the official regimental march of the Austrian Artillery Regiment Number 2 till its dissolution in 2007.^{[citation needed] [5]}The first one-third part of the march song is featured in the 1992 computer game Great Naval Battles: North Atlantic 1939-1943 when Germany is being selected in the gameplay.

Wagner's other most popular pieces are the Holzhackerbuam march and the Jolly Lumberjack polka. In 1895, his only opera, Der Herzbub, premiered in Vienna.^[6]

The tune "Under the Double Eagle" was also used for the well known animation segment "Conrad Pooh And His Dancing Teeth" in Monty Python's Flying Circus. (http://montypython.wikia.com/wiki/Conrad_Poohs)

References

1. ^ PastMasters public domain web listing for Josef Wagner.
2. ^ Rehrig, William H. The Heritage Encyclopeida of Band Music, Volume 2. Integrity Press, 1991.
3. ^ University of California Santa Barbara: Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings Matrix BVE-355. Matrix BVE-355. Under the Double Eagle march / Sousa's Band Retrieved August 23, 2011
4. ^ University of California Santa Barbara: Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings Matrix B-355. Under the Double Eagle (march) / Sousa's Band Retrieved August 23, 2011
5. ^ http://kaernten.orf.at/stories/197976/
6. ^ J.F. Wagner on Stanford composers site.

External links

• Free scores by Josef Wagner at the International Music Score Library Project

Persondata
Name	Wagner, Josef
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 March 1856
Place of birth
Date of death	5 June 1908
Place of death