Franz Lehár (Lehár Ferenc 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was a Hungarian composer, mainly known for his operettas. Lehár was born in Komárom, Hungary (now Komarno, Slovakia), as the eldest son of a bandmaster in the army. He studied violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory but was advised by Antonín Dvořák to focus on composing music. After graduation in 1899 he joined his father's band in Vienna, as assistant bandmaster. In 1902 he became conductor at the historic Vienna Theater an der Wien