THE BOREALIS WIND QUINTET

"[The featured works] receive performances that are noteworthy for their subtlety, verve, impeccable intonation, ensemble transparency and unanimity and sheer dedication."

Fanfare [July/August 2000]

The Borealis Wind Quintet presents a delightful concert of European works plus an attractive piece by the American composer Eric Ewazen. The concert opens with the pastel-like music of Parisian composer Charles Edouard Lefebvre (whose music has often been compared with that of Mendelssohn). The ensemble’s clarity shines in the changing combinations of the six Bagatelles by the contemporary European composer Gyorgy Ligeti.  The brief opera arrangements that follow allow the listener to enjoy melodies by Donizetti and Verdi in new instrumental coloration.  Eric Ewazen’s  Roaring Fork Quintet (commissioned by the Borealis Quintet) evokes both the splendor and the serenity of the Rocky Mountain scenery of Colorado. The Adagio by Anton Reicha (a contemporary of Beethoven) features a haunting melodic line for the English horn, and the concert concludes with three  engaging works by Johann Strauss, Jr.

The Borealis Wind Quintet was formed in 1976 and continues to earn appreciative applause from audiences as well as exceptional press reviews wherever they tour. The New York Times commented on the musicians’ “lively, communicative” performances; the Washington Post noted their “superb and skillful playing,” and the Philadelphia Inquirer cited “the sort of rapport that characterizes the very best chamber playing.” Charles Lefebvre
Suite, Op. 57

Gyorgi Ligeti
Six Bagatelles

Opera Highlights
from L’Elisir d’Amore and  La Traviata (arr. Price)

Eric Ewazen
Roaring Fork Quintet for Wind Instruments

Anton Reicha
Adagio for the English Horn

Johann Strauss (arr. Gabler)
Vergnugungzug
Egyptischer Marsch
Perpetuum Mobile
 



MSR Classics