Kolín marks 150 years since first concert of most famous Czech brass band
František Kmoch, conductor and famous composer of brass music, composed over 230 marching and dance pieces, which are still played at village balls and events today.
František Kmoch, conductor and famous composer of brass music, composed over 230 marching and dance pieces, which are still played at village balls and events today.
František Kmoch founded his first band in 1871. The eight-member orchestra later became the band for the Sokol sport organization of Kolín and at the time of its greatest glory, it had up to 70 members. Their first concert took place 150 years ago on 15 May 1872.
A patriot in body and soul
Kmoch’s compositions helped to strengthen Czech national consciousness during the Austro Hungarian rule and later during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. He was first noticed by Czech patriots at the unveiling of the Jungmann Monument in Prague and his band played an important role in the opening ceremony of the Sokol gymnastic convention in Prague in 1873.
Also popular abroad
Kmoch took to composing at the age of ten. He reworked and adapted old folk songs and hugely contributed to the preservation of this Czech heritage. In addition, he composed dance pieces, including polkas, waltzes, shakers and mazurkas. But his most special field were marches.
The fame of Kmoch’s orchestra went far beyond the borders of his native Kolín. He received many offers from other cities as well. With his orchestra, he visited Cracow (1884), Budapest (1885) and Vienna (1899). He even undertook a three-month tour of Russia and also travelled across the ocean to the United States.
Kmoch’s Kolín
František Kmoch was lured to various cities with offers to become a conductor, but he remained faithful to his birthplace. His folk song praising Kolín is known to almost everyone in the Czech Republic, although today with different lyrics.
If you ask people in the Czech Republic what comes to mind when they hear the word "brass band", most people will immediately think of Kolín. The connection between brass band music and the Central Bohemian Town has been further strengthened by the world-famous Kmochův Kolín Festival of Brass Bands, which has been held here since 1961.
The last two editions were disrupted by Covid, but this year visitors can once again look forward to Kolín coming to life with brass music performed by local and foreign orchestras, as well as the traditional performances of majorettes.
