Czech national concert band pays tribute to czech military band leaders

On Friday, 9 September, the National Wind Orchestra performed under the baton of its chief conductor Václav Blahunk at the Jirásek Theatre in Nový Bydžov. It opened the 26th annual Fišerův Bydžov Festival of Wind Music. With the dramaturgy of the concert this time the orchestra paid tribute to military bandleaders who stood at the roots of brass music and whose compositions were the main source of the repertoire of Czech wind orchestras. The orchestra framed its programme with Julius Fucik’s famous marches. The beginning of the concert featured his Ride of the Gladiators and the concert ended with the Florentine March. The concert also included compositions by Jindřich Praveček, Eduard Kudelásek, Jindřich Brejšek, Jaroslav Zeman, Karel Bělohoubek and Petr Stříška. The main soloist of the evening was trombonist of the Czech Philharmonic Jan Perný. The members of the orchestra, horn player Kateřina Soukupová, trumpet player Jan Buček and clarinet player Ondřej Toman, also performed their solos superbly.