Franz von Blon - Hand in Hand March, Op. 77 (1905)

Franz von Blon (July 16, 1861 – October 21, 1945) was a German composer and bandmaster best known for his concert marches, operettas, and the serenade Sizilietta.

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Hand in Hand Marsch, Op. 77 (c. 1905)

Orchester Des Wachtregiments Feliks Dzierzynski

From 1884 to 1890 von Blon was concertmaster in the orchestra of the Hamburg City Theatre. From 1890 he worked as a composer in Berlin. Like Victor Hollaender, Paul Lincke and Walter Kollo, he was one of those entertainment composers with whom "the nimbus of Berlin music is still associated today". In 1897 he became conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Concert tours have taken him with the orchestra through Germany, England and the USA, among other places. In 1904, he performed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. From 1901 he was also conductor of the Berlin Tonkünstler Orchestra – together with Richard Strauss – and from 1906 of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Later he also made guest appearances in the Soviet Union.

von Blon's oeuvre includes mainly light orchestral works such as overtures and suites as well as piano works, songs and several operettas. The latter include Sub rosa (Lübeck, 1887), Die Amazone (Magdeburg, 1903) and Die tolle Prinzeß (Halle, 1913). He also wrote the ballet In Afrika (Berlin, 1899). The dance image was designed by Emil Graeb, ballet master at the Royal Opera in Berlin. Along with Carl Teike and Hermann Ludwig Blankenburg, von Blon can be counted among the most important German composers of marching music. In total, he composed about 30 such pieces. His works included very American works such as the march The Friendship Flag of 1904. In 1933, the marches Under the Victory Banner (HM II, 152) and Victoria (HM II, 153) were integrated into the army march collection. Von Blon was the creator of "appealing, concertante brass music" (Gottfried Veit), for example of the Dramatic Overture and the march Heil Europa. The former composition was premiered at the 19th Federal Music Festival in Bern and was considered by Wolfgang Suppan to be a "pioneering work" for wind orchestra. Among von Blon's 80 brass music compositions is the Serenade d'Amour, which was recorded in 1903 and 1909 by John Philip Sousa's band. The Vienna Concert Association and the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestras included his compositions in their programmes. Many of his works have been arranged by Charles Wiley and Harold Gore, and over 40 have been published in the "Heritage of the March" record series (volumes 9, Q, HH, AAAA, and BBBB)