30-31 May 2009 11th MEETING OF CZECH MILITARY BANDS at Karlovy Vary. In view of the fact that two of the four currently existing Czech military bands are due to be disbanded at the end of 2009, and the future of the remaining two seems to be in doubt (see CZECH MILITARY BANDS in our "News" section), this will have been the last of these annual occurrences. The three garrison bands from Hradec Králové, Olomouc and Tábor, as well as the Army Central Band, took part. There was also a drill display by the Army Guard of Honour. A vast range of music was performed culminating in the final combined concert given by the four bands.
12th-14th June 2009 46th "KMOCHUV KOLÍN" WIND BANDS FESTIVAL at Kolín, Central Bohemia. This year, for the first time, most of the traditional aspects of past Kmoch Festivals were missing, with the main emphasis more on modern compositions and arrangements. Changes from previous years included the absence of any contribution by military bands, the omission of the usually impressive "Nocturnal Concert" at the Cathedral, the absence of visiting leading composers to conduct their own works at the "monster concert", and a rather meagre list of participating bands. Whether these developments were dictated by a need for economy is not known and all we have to go on is the printed programme. However we were pleased to note that the Festival ended with the ususal selection of well-known Kmoch pieces and an interesting innovation was the performance by a Schalmei band from Eastern Germany. We await with some curiosity the announcement of arrangements for next year's festival.
14-19 July 2009 10th MID-EUROPE BAND MUSIC FESTIVAL at Schladming, Austria. Among major professional bands taking part were the Austrian Military Bands from Upper Austria and Burgenland as well as the Rundfunk Blasorchester Leipzig. The Majovák Band from the Czech Republic, possibly the first Czech ensemble ever to visit this important annual event, included two pieces by Pavel Stanek ("Moravian Impressions" and "Columbus: the Great Journey 1492") and Eduard Kudelásek's "Spanish Rhapsody" in their concert programme on Saturday 18th July. Next year's festival takes place on 13 to 18 July 2010.
18-20 September 2009 12th EUROPEAN BAND MUSIC FESTIVAL at Bad Schlema, Saxony, Eastern Germany. With 5,000 seats in the main marquee and 12 hours of nonstop music each day, this festival is an absolute feast for all band enthusiasts. In 2009 a host of amateur and professional bands took part from Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Scotland and Switzerland. The 2010 festival will be held on the third weekend in September.
25-27 September 2009 VEJVODA FESTIVAL at Zbraslav, near Prague. Concerts, Parades and Competition for small bands from Czech Republic and one band from Holland. Also featuring a special concert by the Vejvoda Band conducted by Josef Vejvoda, son of Jaromir Vejvoda.
16-17 October 2009 14th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL FOR LARGE WIND BANDS, OSTRAVA. To be held in House of Culture, City of Ostrava, North Moravia.
CZECH ARMY CENTRAL BAND. Concerts in the PRAGUE CITY LIBRARY, Mariánské námestí, Prague 1 at 17.00 hours on 14th October and 17th December 2009.
7-8 November 2009 15th BERLIN MILITARY MUSIC FESTIVAL. This year's participitants will include The Czech Army Central Band, German Air Force Band No. 4, German Navy Band (Kiel), Netherlands Marine Band, and representatives from Brunei, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia and USA.
8-9 January 2010 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE FESTIVAL FOR LARGE WIND BANDS, PRAGUE. To be held in the National House, Smíchov.
RADIO PROGRAMMES OF WIND BAND MUSIC
Bayern 1 (Astra satellite & Internet) Sundays 10.05-11.00 GMT
Österreich 2 Oberösterreich (Astra satellite & Internet) Sundays 19.05-20.00 GMT
WDR 4 Köln (Astra satellite & Internet) Tuesdays 20.05-21.00 GMT
Österreich 2 Tirol (Astra satellite & Internet) Tuesdays 17.30-18.00 GMT
Radio Eviva (Internet only) Mondays 19.00-20.00 GMT ("Vorwärts marsch!")
Österreich 2 Burgenland (Astra satellite & Internet) Tuesdays 19.05-20.00 GMT
RADIO PROGRAMMES OF LIGHT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
WDR 4 Köln (Astra satellite & Internet) Saturdays 16.25-17.00 GMT
Radio Teesdale (UK) (Internet only) Mondays 22.00-23.00 GMT Repeated Sundays 15.00-16.00 GMT