Siegfried Rundel | Composers

Siegfried Rundel was born in Bußmannshausen on April 27, 1940. His fascination and natural talent for music showed from an early age. He played the trombone in the community band and tried first compositions and arrangements as a teenager. His teachers were pioneers of the German wind band development, such as Hans Feliy Husadel, Gustav Lotterer und Hellmut Haase-Altendorf. Siegfried Rundel had to learn the trade as a toolmaker, but he used every opportunity to extend his theoretical kowledge about music and his practical abilites as composer and conductor. From 1961 he was conductor in Rot an der Rot and some years later he also became conductor in Baltringen and Ummendorf. Later on, he took over the office as youth leader and chief conductor of the Biberach wind band association

Siegfried Rundel realized very quickly that there was not much good and playable music for amateur bands in rural areas. Most of the common literatur was outdated and too difficult for normal community bands. For that reason he founded his own publishing company in 1964. At the beginning it was just a side job and mainly distribution of existing music. With time he expanded the range of products and in 1968, he decided to fulfill his dream and become a full-time publisher. One year later he published his first in-house productions, which caused big enthusiasm with the bands. The most important things for Siegfried Rundel were high quality and playability - those principles are firmly established in the RUNDEL philosophy. He won over many composers, who shared his idea of playable compositions and arrangements for amateur bands. In the RUNDEL list of composers, you can find names like Hans Hartwig and Walter Tuschla, later Franz Watz, Kurt Gäble, Manfred Schneider, Albert Loritz and Kees Vlak and today also a young generation of composers like Markus Götz and Thiemo Kraas.

The music of Eastern countries, mainly Czech music, had always fascinated and touched Siegfried Rundel. After the fall of the Berlin Wall he approached composers from the former Eastern bloc, whose works had not been available in West Germany before. He won over composers from the former GDR like Josef Böhnisch, Klaus-Peter Bruchmann and Siegmund Goldhammer and also fantastic Czech composers like Zdenek Lukaš, Karel Belohoubek, Evžen Zámecník and Pavel Stanek, whom he admired in a particular way.

Siegfried Rundel wrote more than 40 own compositions and 200 arrangements. His transcriptions were always qualified and in proper style. At the same time all his works beared his personal hallmarks. Polkas, Marches or classical transcriptions... Siegfried Rundel always set great value on the mid-European wind band sound and aimed to make this music available for everyone. Regardless of all musical, technical and operational proceedings, the publishing company never lost the connection to its roots - the amateur bands. Even after the change of generations, personal consulting, a strong connection between company and customers and the aim to publish playable high quality music are main aspects of Musikverlag RUNDEL. His wife Antonie and his sons Stefan and Thomas have always been involved in the publishing company. Since 2001, Stefan and Thomas carry on the business in accordance with their father's ideals, holding the balance of down-to-earthness and visions.
Siegfried Rundel died on April 9, 2009.