Search - Dorian Quintet, New York Philomusica, Jean Casadesus :: Music For Winds: 20th Century Music for Woodwinds

A Jumble of Rainbows for an Angel Named Messiaen

DJ Rix | NJ USA | 10/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is truly a life-affirming collection. There are many very good to brilliant recordings of "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" of varying interpretations, currently available, most recently on the budget Naxos label. Since this composition, composed under horrendous conditions in a German prisoner of war camp, is a 20th Century masterpiece, you might prefer one of those. But the recording here is a fine one, featuring clarinetist Joseph Rabbai, pianist Robert Levin & violinist Isidore Cohen, plus it comes along with a selection of the century's loveliest wind & wind quintet compositions by Samuel Barber (the famous "Summer Music"), Poulenc, Francaix. Ibert & Irving Fine. Best of all, most of the other pieces are performed by the Dorian Quintet, modern music specialists who also recorded for the CRI Label & have premiered many new works. The Poulenc & Francaix are particularly spry, as they should be.



So here's the deal: As with many of the best Vox Boxes, you get a lot of good music to sample for your bucks. The American String Quartet & American Piano Music Vox Box series introduced me to much terrific music. Others, such as the complete Chavez symphonies, Prokofiev film music, & some of the Alfred Brendel Beethoven boxes are still indispensible. The Seventies were hardly the sonic dark ages, so the ADD sound is just fine (often it's warmer than DDD).



If you wanna dip your ears into some new music, or if you're a curious college clarinetist checking out the ensemble repertoire, Music for Winds will give you hours of pleasure."