Eduard Wagnes (18 March 1863 in
Graz,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
– 27 March 1936 in
Bad Gams
Bad Gams () is a former municipality and, traditionally, a market town, in the district of Deutschlandsberg in Styria, Austria, roughly 30 km from Graz. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Deutschl ...
, Austria) was a
conductor in the
Austro-Hungarian Military, and
composer of military marches. His most famous composition was "
Die Bosniaken Kommen", composed in 1895.
Biography
Wagnes was born 18 March 1863 in Austria. His father, a musician and manufacturer brass instruments, taught him to play music.
Wagnes was accepted into the Styrian Music Association music school at age 7 and learned the
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
; at age 15, he became first horn player at the Graz City Theater. He was later a solo horn player in
Eduard Strauss
Eduard "Edi" Strauss (15 March 1835 – 28 December 1916) was an Austrian composer who, together with his brothers Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss made up the Strauss musical dynasty. He was the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim ...
's orchestra.
He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1885 to 1889.
Wagnes was later appointed bandmaster of the second Bosnian infantry regiment, where he composed several marches. The best-known of these, "Die Bosniaken Kommen," was adopted as the regiments' ''de facto'' march and remains a popular Austrian composition.
He would ultimately write around 300 pieces, primarily marches but also including waltzes, a mass, and three
operettas.
Wagnes was admired by
Gustav Mahler, who wanted to hire him as a horn player, and by King Ludwig III. He received the Golden Cross of Merit with the Crown, and a street in Graz was named after him.
He died 27 March 1936.
Compositions
*
''Die Bosniaken kommen'' - 1895
* ''Flitsch Marsch'' - 1928
* ''Felsenfest für's Vaterland'' - 1932
* ''Helden von Meletta'' - 1932
* ''Ausseer Buam''
* ''Durch dick und dünn''
* ''Für Freiheit und Ehr''
* ''Hand in Hand''
* ''Heldenhaft Marsch''
* ''Mit eisener Kraft''
* ''Ritterlich''
* ''Zum Schutz und Trutz''
Dramatic music
* 1910 ''Alt-Wien'', operette - libretto: Ferdinand Maierfeld-Enter
* 1911 ''Die Klosterprinzessin'', operette - libretto: Hans Pflanzer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagnes, Eduard
1863 births
1936 deaths
Austrian male composers
Austrian composers
Composers from Austria-Hungary