Wind quintet

Group of five wind players
The Prague Wind Quintet, c. 1931

A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon).

Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the instruments in a wind quintet differ from each other considerably in technique, idiom, and timbre. The modern wind quintet sprang from the octet ensemble favored in the court of Joseph II in late 18th century Vienna: two oboes, two clarinets, two (natural) horns, and two bassoons.[1] The influence of Haydn's chamber writing suggested similar possibilities for winds, and advances in the building of these instruments in that period made them more useful in small ensemble settings, leading composers to attempt smaller combinations.

It was Anton Reicha's twenty-four quintets, begun in 1811, and the nine quintets of Franz Danzi that established the genre, and their pieces are still standards of the repertoire. Though the form fell out of favor in the latter half of the 19th century, there has been renewed interest in the form by leading composers in the 20th century, and today the wind quintet is a standard chamber ensemble, valued for its versatility and variety of tone color.

Notable wind quintet composers

Trois quintetti concertans (Three Wind Quintets), c.1802, by Giuseppe Cambini; performed by the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet, 1970
No. 1 in B♭ major
I. Allegro maestoso
II. Larghetto cantabile
III. Rondo Allegretto grazioso
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No. 2 in D minor
I. Allegro espressivo
II. Larghetto sostenuto ma con moto
III. Presto ma non tanto
No. 3 in F major
I. Allegro maestoso
II. Larghetto sostenuto
III. Rondo Allegro con brio

Eighteenth century

  • Antonio Rosetti (ca. 1750–1792) One quintet, for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon

Nineteenth century

Twentieth century

Twenty-first century

Notable wind quintet repertoire

  • Andriessen, Jurriaan, Sciarada Spagnuola [Spanish Charade] (1963)
  • Arnold, Malcolm, Three Shanties, op. 4 (1943)
  • Bach, Jan, Skizzen, Highgate Press [Sketches, Highgate Press] (1983)
  • Barber, Samuel, Summer Music, op. 31 (1955)
  • Baur, Jürg, Quintetto sereno [Serene Quintet] (1957–58)
  • Beaser, Robert, Shadow and Light (1981)
  • Bennett, Richard R., Concerto for Woodwind Quintet
  • Berio, Luciano
    • Ricorrenze (1987)
    • Wind Quintet (1948)
    • Wind Quintet (1950)
    • Opus Number Zoo (arr. 1951 for wind quintet, from the 1950 original for 2 clarinets and 2 horns)
  • Birtwistle, Harrison
    • Refrains and Choruses (1957)
    • Five Distances (1992)
  • Bloch, Waldemar, Serenade (1966)
  • Blumer, Theodor, Serenade, Theme and Variations
  • Bobescu, Constantin, Parafrază pe motivul "Horei Staccato" (1958)
  • Bois, Rob du
    • Chants et contrepoints (1962)
    • Réflexions sur le jour où Pérotin le Grand ressuscitera (1969)
  • Bottje, Will Gay, Diversions, for quintet, narrator and piano; text by James Thurber (1994)
  • Bozza, Eugene
    • Variations sur un thème libre, op. 42 (1943)
    • Scherzo, op. 48 (1944)
    • Pentaphonie (1969)
    • Quand les muses collaborent
  • Bresnick, Martin
    • Just Time (1985)
    • Willie's Way (2006, quintet arrangement by Richard Mathias 2011)
  • Brown, Stephen, Suite for Woodwinds, (1982, revised 2006)
  • Buss, Howard J., Five Stars (2004)
  • Cambini, Giuseppe Maria, Trois quintetti concertans [Three Concertante Quintets] (ca. 1802)
    • Quintet no. 1 in B-flat major
    • Quintet no. 2 in D minor
    • Quintet no. 3 in F major
  • Carter, Elliott
    • Nine by Five (2009)
    • Quintet (1948)
  • Chávez, Carlos, Soli no. 2 (1961)
  • Cortés, Ramiro, Three Movements for Five Winds (1967–68)
  • Dahl, Ingolf, Allegro and Arioso
  • Damase, 17 Variations op. 22, (1951)
  • Danzi, Franz, 9 Quintets:
    • op. 56, no. 1 in B-flat major
    • op. 56, no. 2 in G minor
    • op. 56, no. 3 in F major
    • op. 67, no. 1 in G major
    • op. 67, no. 2 in E minor
    • op. 67, no. 3 in E-flat major
    • op. 68, no. 1 in A minor
    • op. 68, no. 2 in F major
    • op. 68, no. 3 in D minor
  • Del Tredici, David, Belgian Bliss (2011)
  • Franco Donatoni Blow (1989)
  • Dubois, Pierre Max, Fantasia (1956)
  • Etler, Alvin
    • Concerto for Violin and Wind Quintet (1958)
    • Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra (1960)
    • Quintet no. 1 (1955)
    • Quintet no. 2 (1957)
  • Farkas, Ferenc
    • Régi magyar táncok a XVII. századból (aka Antiche danze ungheresi del 17. secolo) [Old Hungarian Dances from the 17th century] (1959)
    • Lavottiana (1968)
  • Fine, Irving
    • Partita (1948)
    • Romanza (1958)
  • Fine, Vivian, Dancing Winds (1987)
  • Françaix, Jean
    • Quintette à vent [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1948)
    • Quintette à vent [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1987)
  • Friar, Sean
    • Short Winds, for wind quintet (2010)
  • Gallagher, Jack, Ancient Evenings and Distant Music (1971)
  • Genzmer, Harald
    • Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1957)
    • Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1970)
  • Goeb, Roger
    • Prairie Songs (1947)
    • Wind Quintet No. 1 (1949)
    • Wind Quintet No. 2 (1955)
    • Wind Quintet No. 3 (1980)
    • Wind Quintet No. 4 (1982)
  • Goldmann, Friedrich
    • Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] (1991)
    • Sing' Lessing, for baritone, wind quintet, and piano (1978)
    • Sonata for Wind Quintet and Piano (1969)
    • Zusammenstellung, for wind quintet (1976)
  • Hall, Pauline
    • Suite for Wind Quintet (1948)
    • Quintet, Lyche (1952)
  • Harbison, John, Wind Quintet (1979)
  • Heiden, Bernhard
    • Intrada in B-flat major op. 56, for Quintet and alto saxophone (1970)
    • Sinfonia (1949)
    • Woodwind Quintet (1965)
  • Hidas, Frigyes
    • Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1969)
    • Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 3 (1979)
  • Hindemith, Paul, Kleine Kammermusik [Little Chamber Music], op. 24, no. 2 (1923)
  • Hoiby, Lee, Diversions for Wind Quintet (1999)
  • Holst, Gustav, Wind Quintet in A flat, op. 14 (1903)
  • Ibert, Jacques, Trois Pièces Brèves [Three Short Pieces]
  • Jacob, Gordon
    • Suite for Wind Quintet, unpublished
    • Sextet for piano and wind quintet (1956)
  • Kelemen, Milko
    • Études contrapuntiques [Contrapuntal Etudes] (1959)
    • Entrances for wind quintet (1966)
  • Klughardt, August, Quintet op. 79
  • Koenig, Gottfried Michael, Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet], for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1958–59)
  • Kotoński, Włodzimierz, Kwintet na instrumenty dęte [Wind Quintet] (1964)
  • Kurtág, György, Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet], op. 2 (1959)
  • Láng, István
    • Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1964)
    • Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1965)
    • Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 3 (1975)
  • Ligeti, György
  • Maslanka, David
    • Quintet for Winds No. 1
    • Quintet for Winds No. 2
    • Quintet for Winds No. 3
    • Quintet for Winds No. 4
  • Marić, Ljubica, Duvački kvintet [Wind Quintet] (1931)
  • Mathias, William, Wind Quintet, op. 22 (1963)
  • Milhaud, Darius, La Cheminée du roi René [King René's Fireplace]
  • Mortensen, Otto, Quintette pour Flûte, Hautbois, Clarinette, Cor et Basson (1944)
  • Navok, Lior
    • Six Short Stories for Woodwind Quintet
    • The Adventures of Pinocchio (for three actors / speakers, wind quintet and piano)
    • Tetris – for double wind quintet
  • Nielsen, Carl, Wind Quintet (1922)
  • Nørgård, Per, Whirl's World (1970)
  • Oteri, Frank J., circles mostly in wood, a wind quintet in quartertones (2002)
  • Paterson, Robert, Wind Quintet (2004)
  • Patterson, Paul
    • Comedy for Five Winds (1972)
    • Westerly Winds (1998)
  • Perle, George
    • For Piano and Wind, for flute, English horn, clarinet, horn, bassoon, and piano (1988)
    • Wind Quintet no. 1 (1959)
    • Wind Quintet no. 2 (1960)
    • Wind Quintet no. 3 (1967)
    • Wind Quintet no. 4 (1984), winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Music
  • Persichetti, Vincent
    • Pastoral, op.21 (1943)
    • King Lear, op.35, for wind quintet, timpani, and piano (1948)
  • Peterson, Wayne, Metamorphosis (1967)
  • Piazzolla, Astor, Milonga sin palabras [Milonga without words]
  • Pierné, Paul, Suite pittoresque [Picturesque Suite]
  • Pilss, Carl, Serenade in G Major
  • Piston, Walter, Wind Quintet (1956)
  • Poulenc, Sextet, for wind quintet and piano (1932–39)
  • Ránki, György, Pentaerophonia
  • Reicha, Anton
    • Twenty-four Wind Quintets, Opp. 88, 91, 99, and 100 (1810–20)
  • Riegger, Wallingford, Concerto, op. 53, for wind quintet and piano (1956)
  • Rosowsky, Solomon
    • "Moshe der Shuster" (Moshe the Cobbler) (1917)
    • "Nigun ohne a Sof" (Melody without an End) (1917)
  • Schat, Peter, Improvisations and Symphonies, op. 11 (1960)
  • Schönberg, Arnold, Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet], op. 26 (1923–24)
  • Schulze, Werner, Explosioni
  • Seiber, Mátyás, Permutazioni a Cinque for wind quintet (1958)
  • Solare, Juan María
    • Extraños preludios y doble canon (Strange preludes and double canon) (1992)
    • Nómade (adaptation of the piece originally for piano solo) (2002–2006)
    • Ölflecke auf dem Wasser (Oil spots on the water) (2003)
    • Born equal (2011)
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz
    • Zeitmaße [Time-measures], for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1955–56)
    • Adieu, für Wolfgang Sebastian Meyer (1966)
    • Rotary Wind Quintet (1997)
  • Sukarlan, Ananda, "Mozart Meandering through Java before Bumping into Beethoven in Boston" for piano & wind quintet, written for the winds of Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also wrote 5 individual pieces for each wind instrument with piano, based on Ovid's "Metamorphosis", written for those members of BSO
  • Susman, William, Six Minutes Thirty Seconds (1995)
  • Taffanel, Paul, Quintet for Wind Instruments
  • Tal, Josef, Wind Quintet (1966)
  • Thuille, Ludwig, Sextet for Wind Instruments and Piano
  • Tomasi, Henri, Cinq Danses [Five Dances]
  • Villa-Lobos, Heitor, Quinteto (em forma de chôros) [Quintet in the Form of a Chôros], for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1928; arr. for the conventional quintet 1951)
  • Weiser, Alex, Wind (2013)
  • Wuorinen, Charles, Wind Quintet (1977)
  • Yurina, Ludmila, Geometricum (1993)

Notable wind quintets

References

  1. ^ Suppan, Wolfgang. 2001. "Wind Quintet". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
  2. ^ Peter Fribbns. Peter Fribbins, 2 Oct. 2007. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.peterfribbins.co.uk/repertoire.html#wind>.
  3. ^ Music Haven. Music Haven, 1 July 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.musichaven.co.uk/Heralds-of-Good-Fortune.html>

Further reading

  • Barrenechea, Sérgio Azra. 2004. "O Quinteto de Sopros" (Dica Técnica 81) Parts 1 and 2. Revista Weril 150 and 151.
  • Brandt, Andrew (July 17, 2000). "Brandt's Woodwind Quintet List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2014.
  • Hošek, Miroslav. 1979. Das Bläserquintett. Grünwald: B. Brüchle. ISBN 3-921847-01-X.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 2017. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Zeitmaße. Landmarks in Music Since 1950, edited by Wyndham Thomas. Abingdon, Oxon; London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7546-5334-9.
  • Leyden, Megan C. 2000. "The Story of the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet". DMA thesis. Seattle: University of Washington.
  • Moeck, Karen. 1977. "The Beginnings of the Woodwind Quintet." NACWPI Journal 26, no. 2 (November): 22–33.
  • Secrist-Schmedes, Barbera. 2002. Wind Chamber Music for Two to Sixteen Winds: An Annotated Guide. Lanham, Maryland.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4246-5.

External links

  • IDRS Survey of wind quintet literature
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