“It sometimes gets very funny when we are trying out new ideas,” says Wilfried Brandstötter, tuba player for Mnozil Brass ahead of their performance at Symphony Hall on Sat 28 June. “Most of the time it’s hard work, but it’s always the ten minutes when you joke around where the best creations start.”

Often popularly referred to as “the Monty Python of the music world”, Mnozil Brass is an Austrian brass septet that combines virtuosic brass playing with Austrian humour, which can be approximately characterized as "jet black" and "here and there" absurd.

It’s been 30 years since a few cheeky music students with philharmonic ambitions gave in to the temptations of tavern music at the Gasthaus Mnozil in Vienna and thus unplanned took the path into the entertainment business.

“The band started its existence in a pub called Josef Mnozil’s Inn,” says Wilfried. “We played there regularly in monthly jam sessions not knowing that this would turn into a worldwide career. Then we played on weddings, funerals, on the street and on marketplaces. It took us a couple of years before we even thought about playing our first concert.”

It’s been ten years since B:Music has hosted Mnozil Brass beginning from June 2015, growing from Town Hall to Symphony Hall. When asked about where the septet finds inspiration, this longevity becomes of no surprise.

“The world is full of inspiration.,” says Wilfried. "We listen to all kinds of music. From operas to symphonies, string quartets, jazz ensembles and pop. Comedy-wise, our godfathers are Victor Borge, Don Rickles, Spike Jones among many others.”

All the founding members are graduates of the renowned Vienna College of Music. “We all started as Brass and Windbanders,” says Wilfried when asked about his earliest musical memories. “I personally started in a boys’ choir at the age of six or seven. My earliest memory was the feeling of a community creating a great sound together, whether it is singing or playing.”

“It takes us about a year from the very start till the premiere of a show including a lot of work on the staging process and the choreographies. We are always trying to bring in new music and are open for all kind of ideas when we start.” Mnozil Brass will be returning to Symphony Hall on Sat 28 June, celebrating their 30 year anniversary with a UK exclusive performance.

Interview by Lerah Barcenilla, Marketing & Communications Officer