Das Siegesschwert

Julius Fucík arrived in Sarajevo via Sisak on Nov 01, 1897 to become the new bandmaster of Infantry Regiment No. 86. Here Fuèík was heartily welcomed and had his first triumphs as a composer and a bandmaster, but this city had never been his true artistic aim. He reached the apogee of his career as a military bandmaster when his regiment deployed to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in 1900. When the regiment was to move to Subotica in 1909, i.e. to rural Hungary, this constituted a major catastrophe for Fuèík as an artist. Consequently he gladly accepted the offer to take over the baton of the band of 92nd Regiment in Terezín, as this position seemed to open an opportunity to return the musical life of Prague. Fuèík, however, misjudged the attitude his colleagues, as following first successful concerts in the capital of Bohemia, he was not allowed to perform there anymore. He therefore withdrew to northern Bohemia and staged many successful concerts in the fashionable spas of that region. When his band was sent to Berlin to represent the Danube monarchy, his concerts were rated as triumphal. This probably was the reason why he retired from military service on July 31, 1913, and moved to Berlin thereafter. The marches on this CD exemplify this period in Fuèík’s life: Schneidig vor (Gallant Advance) was composed during his assignment to Infantry Regiment No. 86, while Das Siegesschwert (The Sword of Victory) is one of the late Fuèík marches which was composed in the Terezín garrison as Opus 260. Both marches contain those musical ingredients that make a sparkling Fuèík march.

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