Articles /2021
2021 4BR Band of the Year — The conductors and players
December 31, 2021
These are the conductors and players we've picked to perform in our 2021 Band of the Year line-up - if we were ever lucky enough to get them together for a one off performance.
National Youth Brass Band at 70 — Challenges met and opportunities to come
December 29, 2021
Mark Bromley, CEO of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain talks to 4BR about the organisation's response to the challenges posed in 2021, and how it is now looking forward to its 70th anniversary year in 2022.
Mediterranean attractions — How a brass band is core to attracting students to Antibes
December 27, 2021
Antibes Conservatoire of Music & Drama has a new state of the art concert hall - but it is a brass band that is being promoted as a star attraction for students.
4BR Christmas Quiz — Test your musical knowledge
December 26, 2021
We have a fantastic prize package on offer for the person who gets the right answers in our festive quiz - a Besson Prodige cornet plus a set of mutes and a pack of music worth...
2021 4BR Awards — The Nominations
December 17, 2021
The long list of 4BR annual award nominations that will be considered by our panel of judges has been released.
4BR Hall of Fame — No. 20: Helen Perkin
December 15, 2021
Iwan Fox looks back on the life of a remarkable musician whose brief compositional association with the brass band movement has almost been lost over time.
Daisy, Daisy... — Remembering a pioneering female cornet entertainer
November 18, 2021
As the brass band entertainers take to the stage at Brass in Concert this weekend, we look at the remarkable musical life of the pioneering female cornet star Daisy Squelch.
Take 5 — A quintet of live National title winning performances
October 27, 2021
Five memorable winning performances captured live from the stage of the Royal Albert Hall.
2022 RNCM Brass Band Festival — A catalyst flagship for the movement
October 10, 2021
Artistic Director, Paul Hindmarsh offers a curator's perspective on what will be on offer at the UK banding movement’s most important festival of repertoire in January.
Postcard from the Royal Albert Hall — Power to the people?
October 7, 2021
Are we coming to an end to our banding history of the National Championships at the Royal Albert Hall? Hopefully not, but something needs to change.
2021 National Championship of Great Britain — Royal Albert Hall preview
September 30, 2021
Players and conductors from 19 bands hope to leave the Royal Albert Hall as contesting heroes on the weekend - at an event that has also overcome challenges of its own to be launched this year.
2021 National Championship of Great Britain test piece review — Heroes
September 29, 2021
American composer Bruce Broughton provides a score from which bands need to find the right stuff of heroes to claim the National title at the Royal Albert Hall.
Fuel in the tank — Brass Bands England Conference 2021
September 27, 2021
Petrol may have been in short supply on the weekend, but collective confidence certainly wasn't at the BBE Annual Conference.
Cheltenham Postcard — Cold War tensions amid the success
September 21, 2021
The success of the National Championship weekend in Cheltenham has also highlighted the need to get the main banding empire builders to at least start talking to each other.
2021 National Championships of Great Britain — Cheltenham preview
September 14, 2021
Banding returns to the National stage this weekend - diminished in numbers but hopefully not in stature. The future may be a different matter though...
Scotland's Cheltenham challenge — We will drive 500 miles...
September 12, 2021
Kingdom Brass, Annan Town and Langholm Silver will each make round trips of over 500 miles to try and return home with National titles.
Take 5 — A quintet of Connotations
September 7, 2021
With the First Section National Finals on the horizon, 4BR Editor Iwan Fox picks five performances of Edward Gregson's 1977 seminal work to add to your listening pleasure.
4BR Hall of Fame — No.19: Rowland Jones
September 1, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back on the life and career of a musician who made his mark as a world class performer in both the brass band and operatic worlds.
If the shoes fit — Combining performance excellence, explanation and Nike trainers...
August 15, 2021
The recent Aurora Orchestra Proms concert caught both the eyes and the ears of the audience at the Albert Hall - and its something the brass band movement could learn from.
The 1980s — The last Golden Age of UK banding?
August 4, 2021
Was the era of Mrs Thatcher, the Miners' Strike, 'loads of money' yuppies and football hooliganism also the last golden age of the brass band movement in the UK?
Take 5 — A quintet of Contest Music classics
August 1, 2021
4BR Editor Iwan Fox picks five performances of Wilfred Heaton's masterpiece to add to your recording library.
4BR Hall of Fame — No.18: Teddy Gray
July 27, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back on the life and career of a principal cornet who defined his own spotlight of excellence.
4BR Talking Point — A change of musical prescription
July 25, 2021
Sandy Smith argues that a re-evaluation of the importance of classical music arrangements could have a lasting benefit to a post Covid brass band movement.
Brass Bands England — An open reply to Brighouse & Rastrick Band
July 8, 2021
Brass Bands England provide a robust defence of their work, responsibilities and ambitions as they reply to the questions posed by Brighouse & Rastrick Band.
Best of Brass Festival — A Risk Assessment needed to connect to wider audience relevance
July 6, 2021
Much to admire on the day at Halifax, but persistence, tenacity and sheer bloody-mindedness are not the characteristics banding needs in abundance if it is to make a lasting mark with the wider public on its post Covid return.
Denis Wick at 90 — The musician with the golden touch
June 26, 2021
One of the greatest influences on the sound of the modern brass player and the modern brass band has just celebrated his 90th birthday.
Take 5 — A quintet of iconic middle movements
June 21, 2021
4BR Editor Iwan Fox picks a quintet of iconic test-piece middle movements that bands as well as conductors with musical aspirations of greatness should understand and master.
4BR Hall of Fame — No.17: Jack Mackintosh
June 9, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back on the life and career of one of the greatest cornet players of any era - and a man always full of comparisons.
4BR Interview — Mathilde Roh - an unconventional cornet star
June 8, 2021
4BR meets Mathilde Roh - the remarkable young Treize Etoiles cornet player who recently claimed the Swiss National Solo Championship title for the third year in a row.
The cherry on the top — National Youth Band returns for Easter
June 5, 2021
The National Youth Band of Great Britain makes a three day return to live action after the challenges of Covid19.
Are we there yet? — After the Covid journey, have we reached the destination we hoped for?
May 22, 2021
As we approach our return to banding, are we about to reach a destination that offers future hope for prosperity or have we simply failed to grasp the opportunity for change.
Take 5 — May the Force be with you...
April 29, 2021
4BR Editor Iwan Fox picks a quintet of memorable brass band recordings of the great Verdi overture La Forza Del Destino to add to your collection.
Prestige performances — Why on-line magic must be rooted in reality
April 28, 2021
4BR Editor Iwan Fox argues that despite the success, brass bands must maintain the prestige of on-line contesting reality rather than relying on aural illusion to keep everyone entertained.
4BR Hall of Fame — No.16: James Scott
April 25, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back on the life and musical career of one of the most respected figures of the banding movement.
Bums on seats — Understanding the new entertainment normality
March 5, 2021
When brass bands return to live performance how do they prise the bums of an audience from the sofas in front of smart television screens to hear them play - or can they also offer another button to press...
4BR Hall of Fame — No.15: Willie Lang
February 16, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back at the remarkable life of the great cornet and trumpet player Willie Lang.
Score Exchange — Three unusual places to find great brass band scores
February 15, 2021
How do you find high quality sheet music? Score Exchange may be just the right place to find out...
Take 5 — A quintet of the best Journey into Freedom recordings
February 12, 2021
4BR Editor Iwan Fox picks five of the best recordings of Eric Ball's classic test-piece to add to your collection.
It's coming home — Has Brass Bands England set out a new contesting future?
February 10, 2021
The European Championships will return to Birmingham in 2022, but can it provide the right stimulus both EBBA and British contesting needs to proposer in the years to come?
Getting the right message across — Have we finally convinced the media?
January 18, 2021
Brass banding is starting to be portrayed in a more informed light in the national media - thanks to finally realising we can influence some control over the message to report on...
4BR Hall of Fame — No.14: George Thompson MBE
January 4, 2021
Tim Mutum looks back on the life of one of the truly unique musical talents of the banding movement.
