The Austrian composer Julius Bittner (1874-1939) was once, according to historical sources, one of the best known and most performed Austrian opera composers during the first half of the 20th century. + Der Musikant, which premiered at the Vienna State Opera in 1909 with Bruno Walter conducting, is heard here in a 1949 Vienna performance, Felix Prohaska conducting, and starring, among others, baritone Karl-Schimtt-Walter and tenor Günther Treptow, a prominent Wagnerian in the near-aftermath of WWII.
