The 30th Swiss Open Contest took place at the Kultur und Kongresszentrum in Luzern on the weekend where Brass Band 13 Etoiles under the baton of new conductor Frederic Theodoloz claimed the title for the first time since 2015. It was the twelfth time the band has won the event.

Closely fought

In what proved a closely fought battle for victory, defending champion Brass Band Berner Oberland ended just a point behind with 2016 winner Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan in third.

There was a change in format this year, with the ten contenders first performing the set-work, 'Paganini Variations' by Philip Wilby.

A second draw had earlier been made in advance of the contest pairing each band against one of ten classic works chosen by the organisers from the pens of Herbert Howells, Gilbert Vinter, Hubert Bath, Eric Ball, Edward Gregson and Percy Fletcher.

The separate adjudicators awarded placings for each band for both the set-test and prescribed 'own-choice', converted into points. The highest and lowest marks awarded to each band were discarded.

Outstanding rendition

Brass Band 13 Etoiles set out their stall with an outstanding rendition of Wilby's masterful work, helped by the 'Best Soloist' contribution of euphonium player William Birrer.

Brassband Burgermusik Luzern stood toe to toe with their rivals, almost matching them with their thrilling account led by Michael Bach to end a point behind, with Berner Oberland conducted by Corsin Tuor in third.

Their consistency almost saw them retain the title in the afternoon with their cultured rendition of Percy Fletcher's 'Epic Symphony' topping the table by a clear three point margin from Oberaargauer Brass Band's 'Spectrum'.

Narrowest of margins

However, there were no less than four bands, including Brass Band 13 Etoiles ('Pageantry'), Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan ('High Peak'), Wallberg Band ('Connotations') and Brass Band Fribourg (Resurgam') tied in third — although crucially for 13 Etoiles the gap was only four points, enabling them to claim the title by the narrowest of margins.

Meanwhile, Luzern's exciting rendition of 'John O' Gaunt' ended nine points behind their main rival to end any hopes they may have had of claiming the title for the first time since 2017.

We are delighted for our new conductor to win on his first contest appearance with the band, and we must thank Garry Cutt who came from England to help us with our preparationsBrass Band 13 Etoiles

Exciting start

Speaking to 4BR, Brass Band 13 Etoiles Secretary, Johan Beltramini said that they were delighted that their new musical partnership with Frederic Theodoloz had got off to such an exciting start.

"We are all very happy and of course celebrated for a long time,"he said. "We are delighted for our new conductor to win on his first contest appearance with the band, and we must thank Garry Cutt who came from England to help us with our preparations."

He added: "We were very pleased with our performance of 'Paganini Variations' with our euphonium player William Birrer playing superbly. We also enjoyed 'Pageantry' but knew we could have played a little better.

To win however is a great boost for the band ahead of the Swiss National Championship."

The event concluded in traditional fashion with Black Dyke giving a thrilling concert to a packed auditorium under the direction of Professor Nicholas Childs, including the world premiere of a new work from composer Christoph Walter entitled, 'Patronage'.

Result:

Adjudicators: Robert Childs, Howard Lorriman, Pascal Eicher, Maurice Hamers, Thomas Hammes

1. Brass Band 13 Etoiles (Frederic Theodoloz): 177/168 = 345
2. Brass Band Berner Oberland (Corsin Tuor): 172/172 = 344
3. Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan (Francois Roh): 169/168 = 337
4. Brassband Burgermusik Luzern (Michael Bach): 176/159 = 335
5. Wallberg Band (Ivan Meylemans): 165/168 = 333
6. Brass Band Fribourg (Maurice Donnet-Monay): 162/168 = 330
7. Brass Band Luzern Land (Roland Froscher): 163/166 = 329
8. Oberaargauer Brass Band (Christoph Luchsinger): 157/169 = 326
9. Liberty Brass Band Ostschweiz (Stefan Roth): 167/152 = 319
10. Ensemble de Cuivres Melodia (Vincent Baroni): 155/157 = 312

Best Soloist on test-piece: William Birrer (euphonium) — Brass Band 13 Étoiles
Best Performance of the own-choice work: Brass Band Berner Oberland