Outstanding Wind Ensemble Music from Van der Roost

It's really a shame. Mention "wind band" and immediately many people flash back to their high school bands. And they then assume that any works written for a wind ensemble have to be as prosaic and basic as those they played themselves.

And nothing could be farther from the truth. In the 20th Century several leading composers -- such as Paul Hindemith and Vincent Persichetti -- composed top-flight works for wind ensembles. And there are many composers adding quality music to the professional wind ensemble repertoire today, such as Jan Van der Roost.

This Belgian composer has written over 90 works for wind ensembles. And they're works of substance. Van der Roost teaches counterpoint and fugal writing -- not basic band techniques -- at the university level. Overall, his music is dynamic, imaginative, and skillfully uses the wind ensemble's resources. He writes idiomatically for the instruments, resulting in some truly engaging music.

Featured on this album is Spartacus, a 1988 tone poem dedicated to Ottorino Respighi. It's easy to hear the influence. Van der Roost's instrumental combinations are as vibrant as any in The Fountains of Rome. In the liner notes, Van der Roost states that there is "a particular connection between Poéme Montagnard and Spartacus. I can hear it. Poéme harkens back the renaissance, much as Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances did. but Van der Roost's music is entirely original, not arrangements of early music. However, the recorder quartet and the use of modal harmonies seem to come from the same neo- renaissance tradition as Ancient Airs.

The largest work in the program, Sinfonietta "Suito Sketches," was a commission by the Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band. Van der Roost makes great demands on the players. The work is almost Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (well, OK -- Concerto for Wind Ensemble), showcasing various sections of the ensemble in different movements.

If you want to hear what a professional wind ensemble is capable of, this is the work to listen to. The composer conducts the Philharmonic Winds OSAKAN in standout performances. The album is well-recorded, with a nice ensemble blend that still allows important details to shine through. A joy to listen to.

Jan Van der Roost: Wind Band Classics 
Spartacus; Poéme Montagnard; Sinfonietta; Suito Sketches
Philharmonic Winds OSKAN; Jan Van der Roost, conductor 
Naxos 8.573486 

Armonia Ensemble Excels in Strauss Sonatinas

Richard Strauss: Wind Sonatinas
Armonia Ensemble
Berlin Classics

Wind music from one of the greatest orchestrators of all time played by the wind players of one of the greatest orchestras of all time. How could the results be anything less than satisfying?

Towards the end of his life, Richard Strauss ceded his role as an innovator and began writing works that unabashedly embraced the past -- which turned out to be just as innovative in their way. The 1943 Sonatina for 16 wind instruments was written during Strauss' recovery from influenza, hence the subtitle "From an Invalid's Workshop."

Strauss embraces a Mozartian ideal in this work, creating a composition of clarity and balance. He revisited the form the following year. The second wind sonatina "Happy workshop" is full of energy and good spirits.

Although written only for winds, Strauss' orchestration genius dazzles the ear with imaginative instrumental combinations throughout these two sonatinas.

The Armonia Ensemble is basically the Gewandaus Orchestra of Leipzig's wind players. And that's a plus. Because they make these works sound orchestral. Wind ensembles can sometimes sound a little wanting, but not with the Armonia. This ensemble doesn't need strings to give it a rich, full sound. Attacks are clean, the blend is seamless, and the playing is inspired. A perfect match of music and musicians.