Big brass band blowing into Auckland and Wellington

Mnozil Brass
St James Theatre, Wellington
Sunday 23 September

Aotea Centre, Auckland
Monday 24 September

The brass band often comes in for unmerited criticism as being just lots of loud music. Even the great conductor Sir Thomas Beecham famously said that “brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away”.

However the touring Austrian Mnozil Brass has been entertaining audiences with their unique blend of musical ability, theatrics and originality – and they’re heading to New Zealand for concerts in Auckland and in Wellington where they will be part of the inaugural New Zealand Brass Festival.

A recent review noted that “It’s impossible to try and musically categorize Mnozil Brass. They are truly unique. However, there is one thing that their legions of fans all agree on: Once you have seen the zany Austrians live, you will never forget them”

Formed 20 years ago in Josef Mnozil’s small tavern in Vienna, , this ensemble of seven ‘insanely cool’ brass players has been wowing audiences around the world with the sheer variety and diversity of its performances. Mnozil Brass has performed around Europe, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, at the Salzburg Festival and in the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Japan.

Mnozil Brass plays brass music for people from all walks of life and more than once, the band has been referred to as the “Monty Pythons of Music” yet each of the ensemble members is a world-class musician performing in the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Art Orchestra. In Mnozil Brass, the seven virtuoso players traverse a bewildering variety of musical styles and genres, from the classical to the modern, producing a sound that can replicate anything from a full-scale brass band to the tenderness of a string quartet.

“It is my fervent belief that Mnozil Brass is the greatest brass ensemble in the world today. Mnozil Brass is quite simply the most amazing thing to ever happen in the history of chamber music!“ Jens Lindemann