German composer, zither manufacturer and music activist. During his apprenticeship, Joseph Hauser also graduated at the then famous zither teacher Josef Wimmer. Soon, Joseph Hauser wrote his first own zither compositions; he became a zither teacher and concert virtuoso. In Erding, which is quite close to Munich, he rent an old barn and started building his first zither. Having finished his first instrument, he took it along to Munich and asked for permission to the residence of Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. Duke Maximilian, who was a great protector of the zither, welcomed him and joined him in playing this new instrument all night long. The next day, he was released with a letter of recommendation, and thus he decided to take up the profession of a luthier. It was not only zithers that he built, but also guitars, mandolins, violins and lutes. Also in 1875, he established his own zither music publishing house, in order to be able to self-publish his compositions in folk music. There are more than 400 compositions known to be his. In 1898 Joseph Hauser was awarded the great medal at the Common Music Exposition in Berlin, and Duke Maximilian of Bavaria presented him the medal for Art and Science.