Mnozil Brass

MNOZIL BRASS has established itself as one of the world’s premier brass ensembles. With over 130 performances a year, the group has sold out houses from the farthest reaches of the European continent to Israel, China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States, and has captivated audiences with their blend of immense virtuosity and theatrical wit. No wonder their videos have garnered millions of YouTube views and their fans have travelled countless miles to hear them play. 

The group’s recent returns to North America were hailed as “seriously funny” and “whimsically brazen.” Their shows include Yes! Yes! Yes!, which blends original compositions with classical favorites, jazz standards, and popular hits; Cirque, where the musicians combat the monkey business of daily life with music and humor, and transform the stage into a musical flea circus; Gold, showcasing their greatest hits; and their latest Jubliee, which celebrates their 30 years together with new works and Mnozil Brass favorites. A recording of Jubilee will be released in 2023 on Universal. As always, the repertoire is presented with the group’s iconic humour and wit in scenes so clever that they would be worthy of Monty Python.  

Mnozil Brass take their name from the “Gasthaus Mnozil,” a restaurant across the street from the Vienna Conservatory, where, in 1992, seven young brass musicians met and began playing at a monthly open-mic. Since then, the group has embraced repertoire for all ages and stages of life: from folk to classical to jazz to pop; all executed with the same fearlessness, immense technical skill, and typical Viennese “schmäh” (almost impossible to find an English translation, but best rendered as a kind of sarcastic charm!).  

In their time away from touring, Mnozil Brass has recorded 8 albums and 6 DVDs. They’ve collaborated on three operetta and opera productions, and composed and recorded the music for the 2006 film “Freundschaft.” The group has been nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award and won the prestigious Salzburger Stier Cabaret Prize in 2006.  

Thomas Gansch | Born in Melk an der Donau, Thomas is one of the band’s founding members. By the time he turned the tender age of 17, he was already playing at the Vienna State Opera. However, his love of jazz was stronger, and led him to become one of the most versatile trumpeters in Austria, one who can play jazz, classical, crossover and everything in between. He is a whirlwind on stage and can tell a good joke or two, as well. When he has time off, he composes for Mnozil Brass. 

Robert Rother | Like Thomas, Robert also hails from Melk an der Donau. As children, the two of them played in a brass band conducted by Thomas’s very strict father. Polkas, waltzes, and marches were always on the program – a good learning experience, it seems! Now, Robert can engender a tone with so much longing and feeling that it is guaranteed to bring anyone to tears. Unlike Thomas, Robert hardly moves on stage at all and lets the music speak for itself. 

Roman Rindberger | Roman was born into a musical family and played folk music as a youngster with his father and two brothers. His father Hans, in turn, would meet up with Gerhard Füßl’s father Franz because the families lived nearby. Roman loves technical passages and renders them with the precision of a Swiss clockmaker. And he even knows how the instruments work! If anyone wants to know more about brass music, Roman is the man for you. On stage, his character is the Latin Lover.

Leonhard Paul | Leonhard was born in Mödling near Vienna and is the first musician his family has ever produced. (Though there was a grandfather who earned his money as a painter and whose pictures hang in every other house in the better parts of Vienna!) Recently, the other members of the band have started to get a little concerned about him because he seems to have taken a liking to shady characters on stage. Everyone wants to play the hero, but Leonhard likes roles that show the darker side of man. No one knows exactly what’s going on in his head! 

Gerhard Füßl | Gerhard grew up near where Roman lived, and also had a father who taught him a lot about brass music. He is the most well-liked in the group. Probably because he looks after the financial matters. Everyone tries to keep on his good side, and no one wants to incur his wrath. For his part, he is usually friendly to all. 

Zoltan Kiss | Austrian folk music was certainly not part of Zoltan’s upbringing. He was born in Budapest, spent some time in Poland, and finally settled in Vienna, where he plays trombone in four languages. One of the group’s favorite games is to put some really difficult music in front of him and see if he can play it. He usually can! His technical skills take your breath away. Bets have been placed as to when and how something will be written that he can not master, but, so far, high, low, slow, fast, he can play it all! 

Wilfried Brandstötter | He started his stellar career playing the recorder, subsequently joining the boys’ choir. After that, it was the violin, followed by the trumpet, before finally feeling comfortable and at ease with the tuba. So, speed is not quite his business. To him, life is a slow and wide river. His ambition consists of making all concert halls, including the audience seated herein, feel the pleasant vibrations he’s producing with the help of low tones from his tuba. He does not understand how people get thrilled by fast, high-pitched melodies.