Czech military musician and composer Julius Fucik might not be a familiar figure to most music lovers, but it would be fair to say that one of his works, the celebrated Entry of the Gladiators, is so well known that it needs little introduction. This unforgettable piece is still used by circus troupes and is heard almost as frequently on the parade ground. It begins with a series of ascending fanfare figures answered by falling chromatic scales before the arrival of the march theme itself. This was the music to which the heroes of the circus ring, acrobats, lion tamers, and strong men would traditionally make their entry; the main motif also features a series of descending phrases, after which an upward scale leads back to a reprise. The trio section is interesting both for its unusually chromatic writing and for its duration—it is substantially longer than the opening section of the march. Here, however, the theme itself, based on semitones, moves up through the register and is made more triumphant by the ritardando demanded before it is heard for the last time. There is no repeat of the opening ideas, and the march abruptly ends with the briefest of codas. The Entry of the Gladiators is certainly Fucik's most popular work, but many of his other pieces are of equal quality, perhaps the best example being his impressive Florentine March. Fucik was a pupil of Dvorák and studied with him at the Academy of Music in Prague. He also studied violin and bassoon and at 19 entered military service as a bandsman. He became one of Europe's most influential military musicians and in many respects rivalled John Philip Sousa. Fucik settled in Berlin in 1913, where he died prematurely at age 44 when his career was at its height.

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