Ferdinand

“Walter Grechenig and his Fegerländer” are a young wind orchestra big band from Carinthia, Austria. Under the motto “The brass music hit”, the 13 musicians combine top-level traditional band music with modern big band hit music. In their young career, the Fegerländer have already won well-known competitions such as “The Golden Flugelhorn” and are “European Champions of Bohemian Brass Music”. The Fegerländer can also regularly be seen live at Austria's largest folk festivals. In 2015, a big dream became reality for the likeable young musicians: they performed at the largest open-air festival in Europe, the “Vienna Donauinselfest”. The Fegerländer inspire their audience with a fresh, positive charisma, musical diversity, show and entertainment and with many of their own pieces and arrangements.

The brothers Johannes and Walter Grechenig come from Carinthia, Austria, and were inspired by their father Ferdinand “Ferdl” Grechenig for brass music at a young age. At the age of 8, Johannes received his first tenor horn lessons from his father, while his brother Walter began taking percussion lessons at the music school in Spittal (Carinthia) at the same age. While Walter decided to study music, Johannes learned to be a carpenter at the age of 16.

They both still share a passion for music today. Since the founding of the group “Walter Grechenig and his Fegerländer” they have been known to a wide audience both as musicians and as composers. In honor of their father, Johannes composed the polka “Ferdinand,” which he arranged for wind orchestra together with his brother Walter.