Wilhelm Stephan

German military composer and conductor of German Military Bands of the Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr).

Born: 19 February 1906 in Lüneburg, German Empire.
Died: 25 April 1994 (88 years old) in Bonn, Germany.

Wilhelm Stephan was Guest Conductor of the Stabsmusikkorps Der Bundeswehr, [a912309], Heeresmusikkorps 6, Hamburg and the Heeresmusikkorps 1 in the 1960's.

Wilhelm Stephan was born in 19 February 1906 in Lüneburg. Although he initially wanted to be a bookseller, after graduating from school he began to have more interest in military music, which led him to register as a volunteer in the 2nd (Prussian) Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment in Hanover. Despite his small stature, Stephan was accepted into the battalion, where he completed his basic training in the 7th Company from January to July 1925 and then joined the battalion's music corps as a trombonist. At the time, [a2519829] was the conductor of the band until 1927. In April 1932, Stephan was assigned to study music for a master's degree at the Universität Der Künste Berlin, where he attended the trombone classes of famous trombonist [a6328140]. In March 1935, Wilhelm Stephan finished his studies and was appointed music master. After completing his studies, Stephan became conductor of the Musikkorps des 59. Infanterieregiments in Hildesheim.

After the start of World War II in 1939, Stephan and his regiment participated in the invasion of Poland, where he composed the march "Präsentiermarsch General von Oven" (later renamed Fahnengruß marsch), which was dedicated to his regimental commander, Major General Karl von Oven. Stephan and his troops also participated in the Western Front. After the surrender of France in June 1940, the 19. Infanterie-Division (Wehrmacht) was located on the French demarcation line, where Stephan composed the March "Vorwärts!" , which was intended to represent a musical implementation of the cries of the division commander, Major General Otto von Knobelsdorff. Later the march was renamed "Parademarsch General von Knobelsdorff". The marches "Präsentiermarsch General von Oven" and "Vorwärts!" They were intended to be included in the German Army Marches Collection (Heeresmarschsammlung) of [a1406621], but were not included due to the course of World War II. In October 1, 1940, Wilhelm Stephan was promoted to music teacher and was later deployed to the Eastern Front, where he organized concerts that were broadcast by the military radio station in Kharkov. In 6 January 1943, Stephan was transferred to Berlin, where he became a professor at the State Academic University of Music. He taught the subjects of conducting, instrumentation, history of military music and instrument studies, His then student, future lieutenant colonel and leader of several Bundeswehr orchestras, Hans Herzberg, remembered the following about him: “When Stephan arrived, the sun came out!”. After the end of the World War II in 1945, Stephan was captured by Soviet soldiers and sent to the concentration camps in Tabor and Brno (Czechoslovakia), later was transferred to a concentration camp near Oranki, east of Gorky. (Nizhny Novgorod), USSR. In September 1946, Stephan returned to Hildesheim.

After the founding of the Bundeswehr in 1955 and the formation of the first Bundeswehr military band ([a2447500]), Stephan reported to the Bundeswehr and In 16 June 1958 he was appointed inspector of music in the Bundeswehr, although initially with the rank of lieutenant colonel (Oberstleutnant) for budgetary reasons. In 20 July 1961, Stephan was promoted to colonel (Oberst). From 1960 to 1962, Wilhelm Stephan founded with his assistant Friedrich Deisenroth the new collections of German army marches, with 145 Prussian military marches based from the collections "Königlich-preußische Armeemarschsammlung" and "Deutsche Heeresmarschsammlung". Stephan was the first German guest military conductor of the bundeswehr and in 1963 conducted a concert with the The Band Of The Royal Military School Of Music at Kneller Hall in England. In 1965 he successfully conducted the United States Military Band in a concert in Washington. He was a co-founder of the NATO music festivals, held in Mönchengladbach and Kaiserslautern and still held in Germany. He also sometimes accompanied the Stabsmusikkorps Der Bundeswehr during their tours abroad, such as the Stabsmusikkorps Der Bundeswehr to Turin in 1961. In 1959/60, Wilhelm Stephan published the series of 9 EPs and 5 LPs called "Deutsche Armeemärsche", which were recorded by the Stabsmusikkorps Der Bundeswehr and published in germany by Philips. Also in the 1960s Stephan released more LPs recorded by other military bands of the Bundeswehr.

Stephan retired from the Bundeswehr in 31 March 1968. After his retirement he lived in isolation at his home in Bonn, but helped with musical matters and continued to advise military musicians. Also, income from LP sales ensured a relatively stable existence in old age.

Wilhelm Stefan died in Bonn in 25 April 1994 at the age of 88.