Background
Joseph Gungl was born on the 1st of December, 1809 in Schambeck, Austria.
Joseph Gungl was born on the 1st of December, 1809 in Schambeck, Austria.
Joseph Gungl learnt the elements of music from the school-choirmaster.
After working as a school-teacher in Buda, and learning the elements of music from the school-choirmaster, Joseph Gungl became first oboist at Graz, and, at twenty-five, bandmaster of the 4th Regiment of Austrian Artillery. His first composition, a Hungarian march, written in 1836, attracted some notice, and in 1843 he was able to establish an orchestra in Berlin. With this band he travelled far, even to the United States in 1848 -1849.
Mendelssohn's complete Midsummer Night's Dream music is said to have been first played by Gungl's orchestra.
In 1853 Joseph Gungl became bandmaster to the 23rd Infantry Regiment at Brno, but in 1864 he moved to Munich, and in 1876 at Frankfurt, after having conducted with great success a series of promenade concerts at the Covent Garden in London in 1873.
Gungl was a very prolific composer, and in his lifetime composed no less than 436 dances, the most popular of which being the waltzes "Amoretten", "Hydropaten", "Casino" and "Dreams on the Ocean", the "In Stiller Mitternacht" polka, and the "Blue Violets" mazurka. His famouse "Hungarian march" was transcribed by Liszt.
Joseph Gungl had one daughter, a well-known German opera singer and local prima donna.
