Wilfried
Brandstötter

Wilfried Brandstötter was born in Salzburg in 1970 and studied bass tuba as a concert major at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under Univ. Prof. Klaus Schafferer.

His artistic career to date has been characterized by a wide stylistic range.  From 1995 to 2000, he was the resident tuba player with the Klangforum Wien and participated in many world premieres and Austrian premieres. Starting in 1998, he worked for ten years as a musician at the Burgtheater and the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, appearing on stage in numerous productions. From 2000 to 2004, he was principal tuba player with the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria.

As a founding member, he performed with the Mnozil Brass ensemble from 1992 to 2026, giving approximately 2,500 concerts at the world’s most prestigious venues. During this time, the ensemble realized about 20 stage programs; examples of the planning and execution of these projects include:

The first operetta of the 21st century, “Das trojanische Boot” (The Trojan Boat), for the 2005 Ruhrtriennale, which premiered at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, with subsequent performances at venues including the Akademietheater and the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and the Thalia Theater in Hamburg.

The opera “Irmingard,” which premiered at the 2008 Salzburg Festival, with subsequent performances at venues including the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, and the Berliner Ensemble under the direction of Claus Peymann.

“Hojotoho,” a commissioned work by the City of Bayreuth, marked the opening of the 2013 anniversary year celebrating the 200th birthday of Richard Wagner in Bayreuth.

As part of his extensive travel, Wilfried Brandstötter has held master classes and workshops in many countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

He has been teaching as a university instructor at the ABPU since 2005; from 2015 to 2017, he served as director of the Institute for Brass and Percussion (BBS); from 2017 to 2025, he served as dean of the artistic programs; and since 2026, he has once again served as director of the Institute for Brass and Percussion (BBS).

His graduates perform with the Vienna Philharmonic, at the Graz Opera, the Stuttgart State Opera, and the Stuttgart State Orchestra, as well as with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra and the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra in Reuttlingen, and in the ensembles LaBrassBanda, Federspiel, the So&So Brass Band, and Mnozil Brass. In addition, students have secured contracts with the following orchestra academies: the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Hessian State Orchestra in Wiesbaden, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, and the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra.