Peter Zauner (composer)

Peter Zauner (1 December 1886 – 26 June 1973) was an Austrian farmer, Kapellmeister, composer, church musician and music teacher.

[1] Zauner was born in Pöttsching, Burgenland, as the son of a winegrower, master shoemaker and musician who was a member of the Carl Michael Ziehrer musical ensemble, where he rose to play the lead violin.

Upon his return to his home town Pöttsching he took over his family farm and from 1919 to 1948 he served as music teacher in the rural areas of the Mattersburg and Eisenstadt districts.

At the 1936 Vaterländische Front competition for the composition of the anthem, the jury panel pointed out that the work should preferably be of "artistic value, easy to sing and folkloristic".

In its closing session on 30 April 1936 the jury selected Zauner's musical composition of Ernst Görlich's [de] poem "Mein Heimatvolk, mein Heimatland" (My people, my homeland) from a total of 283 applications.