Twentieth-century Music for Winds
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BARBER / HINDEMITH / NIELSEN / JANACEK
Twentieth-century Music for Winds
London Winds
[ Chandos Classics / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 16 October 2015
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The ensemble London Winds, praised by BBC Music for its 'technical accomplishment, expressive commitment and warmth of timbre', presents in this recording great twentieth-century works for winds.
It features music by Hindemith, Nielsen, and Janáček, and, from the next generation, Barber and Ligeti. Although not equally prolific (Kleine Kammermusik is Hindemith's single contribution to that genre while winds are generally more prominent in Nielsen's music), all these composers brought the wind repertoire back to prominence, after a quiet period of more than a century. The music is full of playfulness and European folk colours.
A stunning combination of virtuoso players who also enjoy active solo careers, the ensemble London Winds is renowned for its technical brilliance, interpretative vision, and joie de vivre. Founded in 1988 by the British clarinettist Michael Collins, the group rapidly became one of the world's most prominent chamber ensembles.
"This is a wonderful programme of five twentieth century wind masterpieces - four quintets and a sextet. All through the disc, the recording is remarkably successful. Wind instruments, particularly in mixed combinations like this, are notoriously difficult to record - the sound they make basically emerges from all kinds of different orifices. So to find a really pleasing balance which is at the same time 'truthful' is a great challenge, to which the Chandos engineers have risen splendidly. So this is an enormously satisfying disc; London Winds are technically superb, but it's the characterisation and imagination of their playing which is so special. Though this will in the first instance appeal to wind aficionados, there is plenty here to delight anyone who loves glorious music in masterly performances." (MusicWeb)
Tracks:
Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Summer Music, Op. 31
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): Kleine Kammermusik, Op. 24 No. 2
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931): Wind Quintet, Op. 43
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): Mládí (Youth)
