JOHANN GOTTFRIED PIEFKE  

When the Prussian army defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Königgratz in 1866, they called upon Johann Gottfried Piefke (1815-1884) to celebrate their victory. He directed an ensemble consisting of three bands in a programme of marches and folk-songs, thereby demonstrating the popularity he enjoyed within the Prussian army. Piefke's masterful direction and the high standard of his players also met with the approval of the famous conductor Hans von Bülow, among others. Preußens Gloria (Prussia's Glory, [16]) was composed in 1871, but Piefke rarely performed it himself. After his death it was discovered among his effects and published in a collection of marches in 1911.