Variety is the watchword or Brass, Reeds, and Percussion. This edition demonstrates that watchword with original classical wind-band music, big band music from the 20th century, and leftovers from Woodstock der Blasmusik.Last week, Brass, Reeds, and Percussion celebrated Woodstock der Blasmusik, a wind-band music festival held in Austria during the last weekend in June. In preparing that show, I had an abundance of riches and we re going to hearing a few pieces that not included in last week’s episode. So we begin this edition with the “Panorama March” by Thomas G. Greiner, who was born in Baviaria in 1966. He plays trumpet and flugelhorn in a number of different bands and writes music in the Egerlander style. But he also plays the French horn in this local village band and has decided the horn is his dream instrument.

Woodstock der Blasmusik is a 4-day, open-air festival held annually since 2011 in Ort im Innkreis, Austria, during the last week of June. Wind bands play both traditional and modern music. The festival started with two stages, but now has six stages, each of which features its own genre of music—from what we Americans might call traditional German polka music to rock-and-roll and folk music. In 2023, 5,000 musicians participated in the festival. When this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion was broadcast, the third day of the 2024 festival was underway. So this edition was an ersatz version of the show in which we will air recordings of music that you might hear if you attended the festival.

Simon Mayr wrote 60 operas, inspired Rossini, and taught Gaetano Donizetti. This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band music Mayr composed: a sextet for two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, and one string bass. Yes, it’s a sextet with seven parts. In such compositions at the time it was written, the seventh part for the string bass was typically not required but often added to enhance the bass line. As wind instruments, the bassoons were not always able to carry the bass line without a little help. This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion will open with march written by the composer often called the “Bohemian Sousa”; namely, Julius Fucik.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion begins with music you might hear at Woodstock der Blasmusik. Woodstock der Blasmusik is coming up in Ort im Innkreis, Austria, beginning on June 27 and continuing for 3 more days. “Blasmusik” is the German word for “wind music.” This festival features wind music of many different genres—from traditional German polka music to Austrian and Czech versions of rock and roll performed with traditional polka-band instruments. Woodstock Music of Austria has recently helped me to acquire the recordings from the first and third years of the festival.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band music by Joseph Triebensee and "Quiet Village," a big exotica hit from 1959. Martin Denny and His Band perform "Quiet Village" and the sound effects are provided by voice actor Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath, otherwise known at Purves Pullen.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band music composed by Beethoven’s student Ferdinand Ries and one of the biggest popular-music hits of 1920. This edition opens with the jazz standard from 1920 that sold over 2 million copies; namely, “Whispering.” The music is credited to John Schonberger, who lived from 1892 to 1983. He was a composer and violin player with a number of published and recorded songs to his credit. The hit recording of “Whispering” was made in 1920 by Paul Whiteman and His Band, with Ferde Grofé performing the piano on the recording. But we open today’s edition with a modern recording by the Panorama Jazz Band from New Orleans.

In recognition of Memorial Day, this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features somber and contemplative music. In particular, this edition features the music of Robert Jager written for and performed by U.S. military bands. For many years, Jager was a professor of music at nearby Tennessee Technical University in Cookeville, TN. From 1962 to 1965, he was an arranger and composer for the U.S. Navy’s Armed Forces School of Music. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1968. He is the only three-time winner of the Ostwald Composition Award of the American Bandmasters Association. He has over 150 works to his credit, including works for band, orchestra, chorus, and various chamber combinations.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind band music composed by Ferdinand Ries, a German composer who was a pupil, secretary, and friend of Ludwig van Beethoven. Ries was born into a musical family from Bonn, Germany. His grandfather was the court trumpeter for the Elector of Cologne at Bonn. His father was a violinist who was also the elector’s music director. Likewise, two brothers were violin players and one of these was also a composer. Ries began piano lessons with his father. But at age 18, he moved to Vienna and became Beethoven’s pupil and soon became his secretary as well, taking care of correspondence with publishers and copying music.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with a pasodoble written by Santiago Lope, a Spanish composer who lived from 1871 to 1906. At age 6, Lope joined the village band playing the piccolo. One day, a military band visited his village and the band director noticed Lope, resulting in his being sent to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid where he studied violin, harmony, and composition. At age 15, he became a member of Madrid’s Apollo Theater orchestra. After becoming the principal violinist of another Madrid Orchestra, he became conductor of the Romeo Theater Orchestra. Then he moved to Valencia, where he started the Valencia Municipal Band.

This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features music of the Danish organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude, who lived from 1637 to 1707 and is considered one of the important composers of the 17th century. He was born in Holstein, Germany, which was actually part of Denmark at the time of his birth. Buxtehude influenced and was respected by other Boroque composers such as Georg Michael Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frideric Handel. Bach walked 250 miles to hear Buxtehude play. When Teleman and Handel visited him, Buxtehude tried to talk them into taking his job and marrying his oldest daughter. This edition features a wind-band arrangement of a Buxtehude organ toccata.