Italian Brass Band (Conductor: Giueseppe Saggio) -

A suitably mysterious opening from the Italian Brass Band, though sometimes a little abrupt in its entries and exits.

Vibrato on the crotales. A nice touch!

There are some uncomfortable moments of tuning, but things are well organised and balanced.

The tutti textures are a bit muddled - with lines not quite focused and organised, but it's exciting!

Subtle sop is well in keeping with the source material, but the tuning was a little uncomfortable.

There are notable clips and splits in softer entries which unfortunately detract from the picture.

Nice cornet leads us through the central section, though accomp is not always speaking totally together. Lovely tuba - I wonder if we could learn something from the euros in the UK on the use of rotary valves...!

Great timps! So committed. It's so interesting the difference in performances today, very different focuses and interpretations.

Closest to swing we've had so far today, but still a way from real freedom. An interesting test for the bands today!

The chorale starts with real intent, but loses a bit of steam, but it's generally well balanced.

A finely paced ending but some tuning issues in the final chord mars an otherwise passionate performance.