Franz Springer

Tractors March

Franz Springer was born on December 22, 1881 in Schwendi (Upper Swabian Region). As a young choir student he received a basic musical education in the Benedictine Abbey of the Emmaus Monastery in Prague. Before World War I he lived in Switzerland for a while, but later returned to Germany and settled in Stuttgart. Between 1923 and 1944 he was conductor of the Musikverein Uhlbach in Stuttgart at various times. He was also active as a composer. He mainly wrote works for wind bands, but also composed for choir and organ. One of his most famous pieces is the "Fantastic Overture".



In 1922, Franz Springer visited the village of Uttenweiler in the Upper Swabian Area. Out of sympathy for the community and the local musicians, he composed the "Lugegass March", which has survived to this day as a kind of anthem for the Uttenweiler Wind Band. Later, in 1950, he wrote another march for the Uttenweiler musicians: the "Tractor March" with lyrics in the trio. When the honorary conductor of the Musikkapelle Uttenweiler, Paul Bösch, celebrated his 60th birthday in 1998, he wished for Franz Springer's "Tractor March". Siegfried Rundel then wrote a completely new arrangement for large wind band based on a few handwritten parts and presented it to his longtime friend.