Hans Balatka

His efforts contributed much to the great increase in popularity of European classical music in the United States during the late 19th century.

[1] Balatka was born in Hoffnungsthal near Olomouc (today the village of Doly, part of the Bouzov municipality, Czech Republic).

[1] In 1849 he reached Wisconsin and, following a romantic impulse, tried rural life for a spell,[1] but soon settled in Milwaukee, where he conducted the Musical Society (German: Musikverein), founded in 1850,[1] beginning in 1851.

In 1867 he became director of the Germania Männerchor, and in the same year conducted the group at Nord-Amerikanischer Sängerbund held in Indianapolis, where they performed the works of Franz Abt.

Besides his addition of a climax to Chopin's "Funeral March," in place of its abrupt ending, he composed a grand aria for soprano with accompaniment, a piano quartet, a sonata, and several songs.