philBlech Vienna

phil Blech Wien came into being in 2010, during a concert tour of the Vienna Philharmonic. The idea was a brass ensemble with two percussionists that would carry on the Viennese brass and percussion tradition and give it fresh impetus at the same time.

Its fifteen musicians come from renowned orchestras and all trained in Vienna. The line-up follows that of a Viennese orchestra: five trumpets, three horns, three trombones, tuba, two percussionists and musical director Anton Mittermayr. Rotary-valve trumpet, Vienna horn and Viennese timpani produce the round, warm sound associated with the city.

The repertoire, works from the operatic and symphonic literature, fits the ensemble perfectly. All arrangements come from within the group, above all from Mark Gaal and Paul Halwax. They let every instrument step forward and make familiar music sound new.

The first CD, phil Blech Wien, was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2013. It centres on the anniversary composers Verdi and Wagner and adds arrangements of works by Bruckner, Mahler, Mascagni, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Mozart and Rodrigo.

Weihnachten – Christmas followed in 2015, again on Deutsche Grammophon, with the tenor Piotr Beczała, the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Chorus Viennensis. The recording reached number three in the Ö3 Austria Top 40. In the same year phil Blech appeared as a guest ensemble on a CD production of the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

Its most widely seen appearance to date came in the intermission film of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert 2013, with Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un Gentilhombre.

In late April 2019 phil Blech Wien made its debut at the Vienna Musikverein together with the organist Olivier Latry. The live recording was released by Deutsche Grammophon in May 2022 as Live from Vienna.

On 18 May 2022 the ensemble gave the world premiere of “Urknall. Die Geburt des Universums”, a commission by Gerd Hermann Ortler, at the Vienna Konzerthaus, again with Olivier Latry and combined with Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” in Mark Gaal’s arrangement.

Recent appearances have included the Liszt Festival Raiding and the Attergauer Kultursommer. The Viennese brass and percussion tradition is alive and well.