Josef Franz Wagner

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, who recorded it three times.^{[citation needed]} The piece is now the official regimental march of the 1st Austrian Artillery Regiment Number 2.^{[citation needed]}

Wagner's other most popular pieces are the Holzhackerbaum march and the Jolly Lumberjack polka. In 1895, his only opera, Der Herzbub, premiered in Vienna.^[3]

References