Einzug der Gladiatoren, Op. 68
Unter der Admiralsflagge, Op. 82
The Mississippi River, Op. 160
Die Regimentskinder, Op. 169
Winterstürme, Op. 184
Der alte Brummbär, Op. 210*
Florentiner, Op. 214
Marinarella, Op. 215
Die lustigen Dorfschmiede, Op. 218
Ballettratten, Op. 226
Donausagen, Op. 233
Hercegovac, Op. 235
Onkel Teddy, Op. 239
Miramare, Op. 247

Thirty years after having recorded Dvořák’s complete Symphonies on Chandos, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and its laureate conductor Neeme Järvi tackle another romantic Czech composer: Julius Fučík, famous for his more than 400 polkas, marches, and waltzes, some of the best of which are featured here.

Fučík studied violin in his early years, switching later to the bassoon, with a subsidiary in percussion and timpani. Playing in Austrian regiments, he gained invaluable experience of writing for military band and became a very prolific composer of marches. The most famous of these is of course Entry of the Gladiators, completed in 1899 and performed throughout the world ever since.

Full of energetic, effervescent Bohemian cross-rhythms, tuneful brass melodies (often now associated with a circus atmosphere), but also more lyrical expressions, this album is a festival in itself.