Saturday, January 07, 1995
Sylvan Wood Quintet at National Arts
by M.C. Dobelis
The Sylvan Wind Quintet, a group of young virtuosi devoted to exploring the literature of chamber music for the woodwinds, played an unusual program at the National Arts Club on January 12th.
This is to the credit of Aldon James Pres., and Daniel Schiffman, Chairman of the Music Committee, his valiant vice chairs, Countess Emilie de Rohan-Chandor, Barry Goldberg, Mrs Gordon A. Lewis, and the 18 committee members and the chairmen emeritae, who all contribute.
Johan Sebastian Bach's Concerto No. 2 after Vivaldi, S. 593, transcribed from organ for the woodwinds by Mordechai Rechtman of the Israel Symphony orchestra, is a cheerful piece of Bach, easy on the ear.
Darius Milhaud's La Cheminee du Roi Renee, with its seven movements of clown/juggler/performer-descriptive music, is thin but presents a variety of moods. This is movie music, not the greatest of Milhaud.
A joy was the Quintet in F Major by George Onslow, four movements of pleasant, fully orchestrated tuneful music. Onslow (1784-1853) was a frenchified English lord, who learned quartets and quintets from Antonin Reicha, an associate of Beethoven. He had a lot on the ball, melodically, if this brief selecton is credible, and should be revived.
The young artists of the Sylvan Wood Quintet are wonderful: Svjetlana Kabalin, flute, Jon Manasse, clarinet, Mark Hill, oboe, Charles McCracken, bassoon and Jeffrey Lang, horn.They play both classical and new chamber music, originals and transcriptions, and have performed premieres of works by such composers as Gustav Holst, Gunther Schuller, David Chaikin and Arthur Weisberg.
The Sylvan Wind Quintet, a group of young virtuosi devoted to exploring the literature of chamber music for the woodwinds, played an unusual program at the National Arts Club on January 12th.
This is to the credit of Aldon James Pres., and Daniel Schiffman, Chairman of the Music Committee, his valiant vice chairs, Countess Emilie de Rohan-Chandor, Barry Goldberg, Mrs Gordon A. Lewis, and the 18 committee members and the chairmen emeritae, who all contribute.
Johan Sebastian Bach's Concerto No. 2 after Vivaldi, S. 593, transcribed from organ for the woodwinds by Mordechai Rechtman of the Israel Symphony orchestra, is a cheerful piece of Bach, easy on the ear.
Darius Milhaud's La Cheminee du Roi Renee, with its seven movements of clown/juggler/performer-descriptive music, is thin but presents a variety of moods. This is movie music, not the greatest of Milhaud.
A joy was the Quintet in F Major by George Onslow, four movements of pleasant, fully orchestrated tuneful music. Onslow (1784-1853) was a frenchified English lord, who learned quartets and quintets from Antonin Reicha, an associate of Beethoven. He had a lot on the ball, melodically, if this brief selecton is credible, and should be revived.
The young artists of the Sylvan Wood Quintet are wonderful: Svjetlana Kabalin, flute, Jon Manasse, clarinet, Mark Hill, oboe, Charles McCracken, bassoon and Jeffrey Lang, horn.They play both classical and new chamber music, originals and transcriptions, and have performed premieres of works by such composers as Gustav Holst, Gunther Schuller, David Chaikin and Arthur Weisberg.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 1:06 PM 
