Paul Lincke was a German composer active chiefly in Berlin from the late 19th century into the 1940s, working at theaters such as the Central-Theater, Ostend-Theater, and Metropol-Theater, with an early stint at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Known as the father of the Berlin operetta, he specialized in operetta and popular entertainment music, his best-known works being Frau Luna (1899) and Lysistrata (1902), which contain the songs ‘Berliner Luft’ and ‘The Glow-Worm.’ After World War II he struggled to obtain permission to return to Berlin and settled instead in Hahnenklee, Bavaria, where he died in 1946, shortly before his 80th birthday.

Lincke is credited with founding the Berlin operetta tradition and giving the city one of its enduring musical symbols in ‘Berliner Luft,’ which became an unofficial anthem of Berlin and remains a traditional encore of the Berlin Philharmonic. His melody ‘The Glow-Worm’ achieved lasting international popularity through later American arrangements, and he is remembered as a central figure in German light music and popular entertainment of his era.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lincke