Julius Fučík - Entrance of the Gladiators - Score

Once again, we come to one of those unusual instances of a piece being remembered for reasons that have little to do with its original composition. In some cases, it seems a shame, but it is better than not being remembered at all. In his time, Julius Fučík was referred to as "the Bohemian Sousa" after the American "March King". Born in Prague, Fučík studied composition under Antonín Dvořák and later joined the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he played under the direction of Josef Wagner, himself called "the Austrian March King", best known for "Under the Double-Eagle". Fučík was later appointed a bandmaster under his own right, and during a break from military service performed in the orchestra of the Neues deutsches Theater, now the Prague State Opera. In 1897, while stationed in Sarajevo, he composed a piece he called "Grande Marche Chromatique" which he later titled "Entrance of the Gladiators". He had read the historical novel Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz and became fascinated with the description of gladiator combat in the Colosseum. This was to become his most-remembered work, after the Canadian composer Louis-Philippe Laurendeau arranged it for wind band as a circus march titled "Thunder and Blazes". It has since become synonymous with circuses in the public mind, although when played at the original tempo, one can appreciate the lyricism of the woodwinds and the technical skill of the low brass. Score sourced through the International Music Score Library Project/Petrucci Music Library: https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:Imagef... This video is produced for educational purposes, for the benefit of amateurs, enthusiasts, and professional musicians alike. No claim of ownership is made over the component parts of this video. SMW is always happy to take suggestions for upcoming videos.