The ten musicians playing wind instruments in the German Brass band are the musical elite: soloists of renowned orchestras and university lecturers. However, they use their fantastic skills not to please a handful of experts with their playing, but to combine classical music with entertainment repertoire, treating all genres with equal respect and presenting the highest level of performance.

The German Brass, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2024, will begin with Baroque repertoire. In addition to the well-known works of Johann Sebastian Bach, widely present in popular culture, the musicians will perform the Concerto No. 2, originally written for flute, by the English composer and player John Baston, whose years of work in London theatres made him write energetic, engaging music to be performed during intermissions. Richard Wagner’s famous Chorus of Pilgrims from Tannhäuser, evoking quite different moods, and Johann Strauss, in one of the most popular Viennese polkas, will represent the 19th-century repertoire. The first part of the concert will end with music from the movie hit Pirates of the Caribbean.

The finale of the concert will be devoted to entertainment, but also the music of Edvard Grieg with the famous piece In the Hall of the Mountain King written for Henrik Ibsen’s drama Peer Gynt, this time played with a swing drive. We will be introduced to the world of jazz by Trumpet Blues and Cantabile – a composition by Harry James, one of the most famous American trumpeters and bandleaders, who began his career in the legendary Benny Goodman orchestra. Another famous trumpeter whose composition will be performed by German Brass will be Chuck Mangione – author of the soundtrack for The Children of Sanchez, with clear influences of Latin music. The programme will also include traditional French music and the title song from Cole Porter’s musical entitled Anything Goes.