The son of an oboist, the flautist, composer and conductor Franz Doppler was born in Lemberg (L’vov) and was taught first by his father. He made his debut in Vienna in 1834 with his younger brother Karl, also a flautist and a partner in a number of concert tours. Both brothers left their native Poland to work in Pest, in Hungary, where they played in the orchestra of the German Theatre and then of the Hungarian National Theatre, and both composed works for the theatre. Franz Doppler moved to Vienna in 1858, serving first as principal flautist in the Court Opera before becoming conductor of the Court Ballet.