Mnozil Brass

The fact that the waltz-drunk »Duidu, Duidu« and his laid-back counterpart »Dudidubidu« are actually just a stone’s throw apart has been clear to the masters of Mnozil Brass for ages. For more than thirty years now, these seven whizzes have been gliding back and forth between Johann Strauss and Frank Sinatra with the greatest of ease and their gleaming brass instruments. They care just as little for the solemn grandeur of one side as they do for the supposed banality of the other. But Strauss – whom Brahms, Wagner and Verdi, as well as the tradesmen and the girls from the suburbs (and even a Gershwin) ardently adored – was the forefather of this nonchalant straddling of the two worlds. He was the first to undermine the distinction between serious and popular music and, as the ‘Waltz King’, became a mass phenomenon – never have the cash registers jingled so sweetly. In *Strau$$*, Mnozil Brass now reveal absolutely everything about Strauss, right down to the very last detail. In the end, nothing remains but the naked truth.

Change of line-up on the tuba

This concert is the first at the Vienna Konzerthaus at which Mnozil Brass will perform with a new member: after almost 35 years as tuba player, Wilfried Brandstötter is leaving the band. »It’s wonderful that we’ve been able to redefine the entire genre«, said Brandstötter in his farewell statement. He is succeeded by Matthias Haslinger, a graduate of the Bruckner University and a former student of Brandstötter’s. Haslinger plays in various bands and is the tuba player in the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra. He also arranges and composes – an ideal addition to Mnozil Brass.