Julius Fučík - Dunajské pověsti waltz, Op. 233 (c.1899)

Julius Ernst Wilhelm Fučík (Czech: Julius Arnošt Vilém Fučík, 18 July 1872 – 25 September 1916) was a Czech composer and conductor of military bands. He became a prolific composer, with over 400 marches, polkas and waltzes to his name. As most of his works were for military bands, Fučík is sometimes known as the "Bohemian Sousa".

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Dunajské pověsti waltz - Donausagen Walzer - Danube Legends Waltz, Op. 233 (c.1899 according to IMSLP, 1909 to other sources)

Česká filharmonie conducted by Václav Neumann

As a student, Fučík learned how to play the bassoon with Ludwig Milde, the violin with Antonín Bennewitz, and various percussion instruments, later studying composition under Antonín Dvořák.

In 1891, Fučík joined the 49th Austro-Hungarian Regiment as a military musician. He initially played in Krems by the Danube under Josef Wagner. Three years later, Fučík left the army to take up a position as second bassoonist at the German Theatre in Prague. In 1895, he became the conductor of the Danica Choir in the Croatian city of Sisak. During this time, Fučík wrote a number of chamber music pieces, mostly for clarinet and bassoon.

In 1897, Fučík rejoined the army as the bandmaster for the 86th Infantry Regiment based in Sarajevo. Shortly afterward, he wrote his most famous piece, the Einzug der Gladiatoren or "Entrance of the Gladiators". Originally titled Grande Marche Chromatique for its use of chromatic scales, Fučík's interest in Roman history led him to give the march its current name. In 1910, the Canadian composer Louis-Philippe Laurendeau arranged "Entrance of the Gladiators" for a small band, under the title "Thunder and Blazes." It is in this version that the piece is most familiar, universally associated with the appearance of the clowns in a circus performance.

In 1900, Fučík's band was moved to Budapest, where he found there were eight regimental bands ready to play his compositions. However, Fučík also faced more competition to get noticed. Having more musicians at his disposal, Fučík began to experiment with transcriptions of orchestral works. While in Budapest in 1907, he composed another march "The Florentiner March".

In 1910, Fučík moved again, returning to Bohemia where he became the bandmaster of the 92nd Infantry Regiment in Theresienstadt. At the time, the band was one of the finest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he toured with them giving concerts in Prague and Berlin to audiences of over 10,000 people.

In 1913, Fučík settled in Berlin, where he started his own band, the Prager Tonkünstler-Orchester, and a music publishing company, Tempo Verlag, to market his compositions. Fučík's fortunes began to wane with the outbreak of World War I. Under the privations of the war, his business failed and his health suffered.

Fučík died in Berlin on 25 September 1916; he was only 44 years old. He is buried at the Vinohrady Cemetery in Prague