Johann Gottfried Piefke (1815–1884) was a Prussian bandmaster and composer. He was born into a family of musicians and joined the 8th Life Grenadiers regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1835. Of some 60 military marches that he wrote, ten were included in the official Prussian army collection between 1846 and 1912.
He also studied music in Berlin and rose to become the regiment’s staff bandmaster in 1843, later advancing to director of music in 1859 and director for all bands of the 3rd Army Corps in 1865.
His most celebrated compositions include Preußens Gloria,Düppeler Schanzen-Marsch, which he conducted in 1864 during the assault on Danish fortifications at the Battle of Dybbøl (German Düppel) in the Second Schleswig War; and not least Königgrätzer Marsch to honour the decisive Prussian victory in 1866 in the Austro-Prussian War.
In addition to writing marches, Piefke gained renown for transcribing orchestral works by composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and Liszt for military bands.
Preußens Gloria was composed in 1871, but Piefke rarely performed it himself. After his death it was discovered among his effects and published in 1911. The march was written to celebrate German victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and the Siege of Paris.
Notwithstanding these infamous connotations, the march was even played some years ago during the state visit to Germany of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The march is often played by Musikkorps der Bundeswehr followed by an Honour Guard as they are lining up for state visits at the Bellevue Castle in Berlin (residence of the German President): YouTube .
The quite short fife tunes preceding Preußens Gloria as we see the band enter the castle grounds, are called Parademarsch der Spielleute and Preußicher Lockmarsch, traditionally used as a device to make troops march in step before the parade started.
Transcriptions and descriptions are not AI generated.
Johann Gottfried Piefke (1815–1884) was a Prussian bandmaster and composer. He was born into a family of musicians and joined the 8th Life Grenadiers regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1835. Of some 60 military marches that he wrote, ten were included in the official Prussian army collection between 1846 and 1912.
