Festival of Military Bands – In Tata for the Fourth Time

Like in the last 18 years, the 2011 Water, Music, Flower Festival attracted thousands of visitors to the shore of Öreg-tó (Old Lake) in Tata. In recent years the troops of the Hungarian Defence Forces also joined the biggest summer festival of Transdanubia, which is held on the closest weekend to the summer solstice, offering spectacular musical programs and a fair. What is more, the Tata Regional Festival of Military Bands and Recruiters has been included in the festival program since 2008.

This year the staff of the Tatabánya Recruitment and Advocacy Office of the HDF Western Hungarian Augmentation Command received the visitors at the “usual place", on the green outside Esterházy Castle. The recruiting officers and NCOs answered questions about the Hungarian Defence Forces, promoted the military “profession", and dealt with advocacy issues of retired soldiers living in Komárom–Esztergom County. The visitors could also try out a fighter jet simulator inside the recruiting tent, which was very popular with the younger guests who happily flew the aircraft of their own choice across the virtual blue sky.

The 4th Tata Regional Festival of Military Bands and Recruiters started in early afternoon on Saturday, June 25. The participating bands gave 30-minute performances to entertain their audiences at three famous sites of the town. In what followed, the garrison bands of Hódmezővásárhely, Székesfehérvár and Szentendre held a parade in front of the castle on Május 1. út (May 1st St.) at 3:00 pm. The presenter told the audience that the band of the local unit, the HDF 25th ‘Klapka György’ Infantry Brigade – the winner of the Príma Award of the county– would not perform at the regional festival, as it was invited to perform in Ljubljana. Thus at the time of the festival this military band was representing the town of Tata, the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Republic of Hungary in Slovenia.

Brig-Gen. Zsolt Sándor, the commander of the Klapka György Infantry Brigade welcomed the audience and the military bands appearing in the festival program. He was of the opinion that the festival of military bands fitted very well into the program of the Tata Festival.

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n his opening speech, József Michl, the mayor of Tata stressed that the well-known military band of the Tata unit provides their town with a great opportunity, as more and more garrison bands arrive each year to visit the town and perform at the festival of military bands. “This event is the “younger brother" of our 18-year-old festival; moreover, your presence adds a new and nice quality to the character of the town" – said the mayor.

The festival started with the musical drill parades of the bands. The Hódmezővásárhely garrison band – conducted by Bandmaster Capt. István Kovács – entertained the public with a medley of well-known Latin rhythms like the popular evergreens La Bamba and Tequila, and the audience rewarded the performance with an enthusiastic applause.

Conducted by Bandmaster Capt. Tamás Ruff, the program of the Székesfehérvár garrison band evoked the atmosphere of Brazilian carnivals. The children and the adults were stamping their feet to the rhythm, and there were some who started dancing. The musicians were dancing too, and their choreography often made the audience smile.

The Szentendre garrison band – conducted by Deputy Bandmaster Capt. Krisztián Rixer – started its performance with a brilliant drum solo, and to surprise their audience, the military bandsmen went on playing a medley of theme music from well-known films. While they were marching out, many were whistling the catchy tune of “The Bridge Over the River Kwai" together with them.

The joint concert of the bands started with “The Children of the Regiment", one of the most popular marches composed by the Czech Julius Fucik – perhaps the most famous military conductor of all time who lived in the golden age of the Austro–Hungarian Monarchy –, and continued with Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack written for “The Mission". The bands also performed pieces by composers Ferenc Erkel, John Barry, Johannes Brahms and Carl Teike.

At the end of the concert Brig.-Gen. Zsolt Sándor and József Michl presented the certificates of the festival to art director Maj. Zoltán Dalmádi, the bandmaster of the Szentendre garrison band and to the bandmasters of the participating bands.

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Photo: Gábor Galovtsik