AN Austrian ensemble formed by classical music students in a Vienna pub is back in Durham after rave reviews in 2007.
Mnozil Brass will be performing their own mix of traditional Austrian brass music and pop almost two years to the day since their last performance at Durham’s Gala Theatre. Anyone who was at that gig will know that it will be quite a performance from the Austrian septet.
Tuba player Wilfried Brandstotter said: “We really enjoyed Durham. It’s a very, very nice city and I think they’ve got a great brass festival. Our show went very well and people liked it very much. We played La Creme de la Creme and that’s a very funny show and they really liked it.
“We have a lot of shared experience with the people of the mining communities because although we started in Vienna, we came from all parts of Austria and played in brass bands locally.
“They are all working bands – harmony bands rather than brass bands like those you have in England – but from blue-collar communities, founded by working people.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in Durham again, and I’ve promised myself I will spend at least two hours in the wonderful Durham Cathedral. I saw it briefly last time and thought it was amazing.”
This year, Mnozil Brass will be bringing a new show to Durham, which they have just debuted in Japan.
Wilfried said: “We will be playing a programme we prepared for Japan – a completely new show called Magic Moments. In a way, there are similarities to what we’ve done before, but we’ve been working with a well-known choreographer from Italy, who’s been working on the Austrian version of Strictly Come Dancing, and he’s helped us a lot with this programme. It’s visual and very funny, because we love to entertain people.”
MNOZIL Brass consists of three trumpets, three trombones and a bass and was founded in 1992 by graduates of the renowned Vienna College of Music who met in the Vienna pub from which they take their name.
From 1987, tables in Vienna’s Mnozil Inn were reserved for regular customers, including musicians, singers and music lovers. Every second Thursday of the month there was a jam session lasting until the early hours of Friday morning.
In contrast to the stuffy corridors of the College of Music, the Mnozil Inn provided the relaxed atmosphere where the young musicians could develop their own style, and so, as the clock approached midnight, the inhibition threshold was generally so low that those who had their instruments quickly put together a programme based on the old familiar tunes, and pressed them on a thirsty public.
In spite of the wild beginnings, all of the band members became graduates of the Vienna School.
But the music of Mnozil Brass is presented with typical Austrian humour – described by the band as “jet black and absurd”. Elements of slapstick take the stage next to virtuoso brass playing.
Wilfried Brandstotter believes that in spite of their classical training, it’s the pub influence that wins out, and keeps the emphasis on entertainment.
He said: “We didn’t start the group to be a serious classical brass band. The roots of the band were in a pub – Josef Mnozil’s Inn – which is very different from a stage or concert performance.
“For two or three years, we were hired for weddings, funerals, christenings, anything at all, and that’s how we found out we had to entertain people.
“We would be playing in streets or in town centres, and if people were not attracted by what they heard, they turned around and walked on. We had to find the key to keeping their attention.
“We play many music shows and they’re all about two-thirds music and the rest is show elements – singing and acting and fooling around, and trying to entertain people in a good way. It’s a very lively show.
“We expect people to come not just to hear, but to look, so you need eyes as well as ears.”
IN the two years since they appeared at Brass: Durham International Festival, the lads from Mnozil Brass have not been idle, with tours taking them to countries across the globe, and some exciting new projects.
Wilfried said: “We have done several things since 2007. Last year, we were commissioned to perform an opera at the Salzburg Festival, which four of the band wrote the music for and one wrote the lyrics.
“It’s in German, so we can’t play it abroad, but we’ve taken it to lots of the very well-known, high classical concert houses in Austria.
“Last year, we also did a first-time project with a symphony orchestra – a piece that was written for us and takes about 80 minutes to perform. This was definitely a highlight.
“We’re playing about 120 to 130 shows a year. Recently, we were in Japan, and last year we played in Japan, Canada, Taiwan, as well as just about every country in Europe.
“This was probably our third or fourth time in Japan and it has been very good. There was a fear that the economic crisis would stop people coming, but the concerts went very well. We played about 20 concerts on the tour, each up to 2,000 people.
“Durham 2007 was not the first time we had performed in England, but almost. We’ve been back a few times since. Our concerts have spread over all of England, but we’ve played a lot in London and in the Manchester area, because a friend of ours is organising concerts there all the time. We hope to be back and in more places in England next year and in 2011.”
Monozil Brass has a new CD out this year, What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life? and a 2009 DVD telling the history of the band – entitled La Creme de la Creme – that brings together the best of the band so far.
Mnozil has a wide repertoire for its two-hour concerts. Most items feature the band playing their brass instruments, but they are also known to sing as well; Bohemian Rhapsody is a “live” favourite.
The repertoire ranges from traditional standards of the brass ensemble via the classical music they studied, to polkas, tango, Shostakovich, John Williams’ theme from Star Wars as well as brassed-up versions of pop songs.
In Austria, certain polkas, marches and concert pieces are played by practically all the brass groups and wind bands in the country, and since all Mnozil’s members started out in these traditional music societies, they have a good knowledge of the repertoire.
The Monozil Brass website gets the final word: “Since it was never our plan to give concerts, and we played together purely for our own pleasure, we had plenty of time to develop the style we have today.
“We played for years unselfconsciously and, because of our style, went on developing quietly, with no external pressure.
Our whole aim is to retain, and pass on to others, our pleasure in making music.”
■ Mnozil Brass, Sunday, July 12, 7.30pm, Gala Theatre, Millennium Place, Durham.
Price: £20, concessions £18.
Box Office: 0191-332-4041.
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