Josef Bayer

Josef Bayer (6 March 1852 – 12 March 1913) was an Austrian composer and the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death. He was born and died in Vienna. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory under the elder Josef Hellmesberger, Anton Bruckner and Otto Dessoff, and was a violinist in the Wiener Hofoper (the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra), 1870-1898.

Though he created over twenty one-act ballets including Die Braut von Korea, he is remembered for Die Puppenfee ("The Fairy Doll") of 1888, which began life as Im Puppenladen ("In the Doll Shop"). It was the definitive Austrian court ballet, and remains in the repertory of the Vienna State Opera.

Bayer was also friends with the Viennese waltz composer Johann Strauss II and it was Bayer who completed the unfinished Strauss Cinderella ballet, Aschenbroedel in 1900, Strauss having died in 1899 leaving a completed draft of the work lacking its orchestration. Earlier, Bayer commemorated Strauss' golden anniversary as conductor and composer with Bayer's specially composed ballet "Rund um Wien" in 1894, which was performed at the Vienna State Opera.

Bayer also composed several operettas including Der Chevalier von San Marco (1882), Mister Menelaus (1896), Fräulein Hexe (1898), Der Polizeichef (1904), Spitzbub & Cie (1907), and Das Damenduell (1907).

He is buried in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 6, 1852 (Vienna), Died March 12, 1913 (Vienna)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1910 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor C-8853 12-in. 4/15/1910 Ballet from Dancing doll Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-8971 12-in. 5/17/1910 Japanisches Siegesmarsche Vienna Quartet Instrumental quartet composer  
Victor B-8972 10-in. 5/17/1910 Ein Tanzmarschen gavotte Vienna Quartet Instrumental quartet composer  
Victor BVE-59498 10-in. 5/1/1930 Waltz : Puppenfee pa-pa ma-ma Bruno Reibold ; Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 67849 10-in. between 1911 and 1914 Puppenfee Kapelle des k. u. k. Inft. Regt. Nr. 67 Band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bayer, Josef," accessed June 9, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104218.

Bayer, Josef. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104218.

"Bayer, Josef." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 9 June 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104218

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