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"The Borealis Quintet is first rate; the players not only know how to blow
into their instruments, they know how to get music out of them...The whole
recording is the stuff dreams are made of."
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The Borealis Wind Quintet are a superb ensemble. Their playing is precise without ever being merely pedantic; their control of dynamics is masterly and their internal balance is faultless. All five members are both sensitive and technically accomplished musicians, and their long familiarity with one another - the Quintet was founded in 1976 - conditions everything that they do. Glyn Pursglove Musicweb-international.com |
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A La Carte 2006 Grammy Nominee for Best Classical Chamber Music Performance
Our latest release has arrived! A delightful menu of wind quintet
gems including works of
Percy Grainger, Amy Beach, Darius Milhaud and
others.
From the Audiophile Audition, www.audaud.com
"... the Borealis Wind Quintet presents a program of mostly obscure gems that will delight music lovers almost as much as it will woodwind quintet connoisseurs."
The repertoire ranges freely from a light-hearted trifle by Nine Rota, a reverie by Amy Beach and a neoclassic showpiece by Ferenc Farkas (his sparkling arrangements of five 17th century Hungarian dances make a splendid demonstration piece) to more substantial sets by Darius Milhaud and Gunther Schuller. There is also a lovely discovery by the contemporary composer Joseph Turrin (whose Hemispheres was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for Kurt Masur's final concert as music director in May 2002), a modern classic by Milhaud (his piquant La Cheminée du Roi René), and a potpourri on Rossini's Barber of Seville by Giulio Briccialdi (1818-1881). The virtuosic performances are uniformly sweet and captivating.
Recorded at the Purchase (New York) College Conservatory of Music, the sound has a wonderful warm bloom with an exceptional sense of space that repays higher volumes making for a good light workout that will test the timbral accuracy of any music system. The affectionate, authoritative notes by the Quintet add greatly to the listening pleasure."
- Laurence Vittes
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A brilliant collection of new classics for wind quintet by American composers Eric Ewazen, John Steinmetz and Miguel del Aguila.
REVIEWS:
From the American Record Guide:
The Borealis Wind Quintet has a sound that is extraordinarily well blended. The woodwind quintet can be a difficult medium because of balancing problems. The Borealians seem to resolve these problems with ease and style. The compositions on this disc are all congenial and easy to listen to. Eric Ewazen's Roaring Fork Quintet is an example of lively neo-classicism, well written for the instruments, while John Steinmetz's Quintet is darker, with a wider range of color and harmony than the Ewazen. Finally, Miguel del Aguila's Second Quintet is a sometimes laconic, always listenable piece, with a lively Caribbean dance-influenced II and a dark, brooding III. Fans of the woodwind quintet will want to hear this disc.
From Fanfare:
Entitled Discoveries, this is an enticing collection of new music for wind quintet, beautifully played be this American ensemble founded in 1976. All three pieces are written in a straight-ahead tonality that should appeal to the most conservative of listeners, and yet there is an elegance and thoughtfulness in all three works that should not offend more adventuresome ears.
The title of Eric Ewazen's 1994 wind quintet implies a sort of new-agey, National Geographic kind of sensibility, and at first listen this impression seemed to be confirmed. Repeated hearings revealed a more substantial work, with a brio and even a sense of majesty in the best American tradition. The theatrical gestures and harmonic language are reminiscent of the mid-war music of Copeland, Harris, or Hanson.
The John Steinmetz Quintet is the most abstract piece in this CD, but it is still very accessible. The six movements are connected by a continuous A 440, which the material both clashes and harmonizes with. This is not an original concept, but Steinmetz carries it off with distinction and fine craft.
Miguel del Aguila was born in Uruguay in 1957. His quintet is a gentle, folksy work that draws on Latin, Middle-Eastern, and Caribbean motifs. It is constructed in a colorful, flowing manner that includes some moments of sly humor. Peter Borwasser
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Exactly what the title describes; one concert, one night, uncut, unedited! Experience an exciting evening with the Borealis.
REVIEWS:
From the American Record Guide:
Though light and airy, Charles Lefebvre's Suite is a real tour-de-force for wind players. Not a note is wasted, and there are no meaningless filler parts or misunderstood harmonies. Each instrument is woven into his contrapuntal fabric in a wholly natural, completely idiomatic manner...hearing a work so remarkably cheery is like a breath of fresh air...
Ligeti's work is highly compressed and economical. Has any 20th Century composer been able to accomplish what he has with such economy of means? This early work, an arrangement by the composer of six of his Twelve Bagatelles for piano, is colorful, concentrated, and a staple of the wind quintet literature. It's also very tricky to pull off, with sudden bursts requiring quick reflexes, especially in the horn part. The mood changes between movements need a lot of attention in order to be effective, though a Bartokian atmosphere pervades the whole (V is in memoriam Bartok) Borealis is up to the challenge, and the brief audience outburst after the humor of I didn't bother me too much-I was laughing too.
There follow to lovely arrangements of opera arias, 'Una Furtiva Lagrima' (Eliser d'Amore), and 'Sempre Libera' (Traviata). These are pleasant and charming...
Eric Ewazen's Roaring Fork quintet is a well-crafted, intelligent, sonorous...piece of music.
Anton Reicha, no stranger to winds, carved this exquisite Adagio sometime just before 1820. The English Horn is the protagonist, playing one of the finest melodies he ever penned. Tamar Beach Wells plays it with suave assurance, supported admirably be her cohorts. The practice of arranging Strauss pieces for various ensembles is ancient and honorable. The three offered here are given perky, entertaining readings.
This is a concert recording from the White Recital Hall of the University of Missouri campus in Kansas City. And such a wonderful place it is. The ambience is stunning for such a venue-clean, warm, vibrant, and remarkably quiet. The audience noise is minimal-almost nonexistent during movements. The Borealis Quintet has been on the scene for quite a while, and their playing is stellar-warm, vivacious, and richly vibrant.
From: Fanfare:
If this offering contained merely serviceable performances of the Lefebvre Suite, Ligeti's Six Bagatelles, and Eric Ewazen's Roaring Fork Quintet for Wind Instruments, it would easily win my recommendation. To bring largely unexplored repertoire before the public, especially repertoire as wondrous as those three examples, is not merely a noble endeavor, but an essential one, and I would be more that happy to cut some slack for the less-than-primo execution or recorded sound. Here they receive performances that are noteworthy for their subtlety, verve, impeccable intonation, ensemble transparency and unanimity, and sheer dedication. The sound is excellent despite the fact that this recording documents a live concert performance, which serves to add both to its charm and immediacy.
...this recording, made in October 1994 at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, shows the fruit of their long collaboration. The repertoire is eclectic, and the Borealis' large stylistic compass effectively realizes the French nuances of Lefebvre's all-too-short suite, the Hungarianism of Ligeti's aphoristic and pungently colored Bagatelles, and the disarming Americanism of Eric Ewazen's Roaring Fork Quintet. ...The music is at once evanescent and grand.
My suggestion is that you play the tracks in the order that they are recorded. The Borealis's apt interweaving of the stylistically novel with the familiar (along with the recording's nicely captured audience sounds) shows that they are playing not only with the notes before them, but the audience as well. The ensemble's slight holding back on the last note of the first Ligeti bagatelle clearly shows that Ligeti intended a Haydenesque joke. That the audience chuckles is truly gratifying.
What a wonderful rapport!
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Our first recording - a collection of favorite opera highlights, beautifully arranged by Richard Price.
REVIEWS:
From the Musical Heritage Review:
The Borealis Wind Quintet is first rate...gentle and agile...boisterous or loving The whole recording is the stuff dreams are made of.
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