Joseph Küffner (born March 31, 1776 in Würzburg; died September 9, 1856 in the same city) was a German musician and composer.
Joseph was the fifth child of the Franconian musician family Küffner. His father Wilhelm was a court musician and composer at the Würzburg court, and his mother Katharina was the daughter of the court kapellmeister Johann Franz Georg Wassmuth. Both died at a relatively early age, leaving Joseph to care for himself and his two younger siblings. He earned his living as an assistant musician, violinist, and guitarist in the prince-bishop’s court orchestra, where he also performed as a soloist.
He taught himself to play many instruments. In 1798, he was commissioned by Prince-Bishop Georg Karl von Fechenbach to reform the Würzburg military music corps. With the secularization of the Bishopric of Würzburg in 1803 and its incorporation into the Kingdom of Bavaria, he temporarily lost his position as court musician. Küffner successfully applied for a position as music teacher with the Electoral Bavarian Light Infantry Battalion “La Motte” and trained the military musicians. From then on, he composed military music and arranged various works for wind orchestra.
Küffner composed over 360 works, 36 of which were for military music.