Antoine Reicha was an early Nineteenth Century Czech composer, an exact contemporary of Beethoven, they played in the same orchestra in Bonn in their youth. Reicha through a process of trial and error effectively created the combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon as the wind quintet, eventually composing four sets of six quintets, which are the foundation of this repertoire. Reicha eventually settled in Paris where he wrote these trail-blazing quintets in a clear classical style. It comes in four movements opening with a majestic slow introduction. Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles are a glorious even amusing showpiece for the modern wind quintet though it is now over 70 years old. The Turkish composer, Fazil Say, is also an international piano star, whose outspoken views make him a thorn in Erdogan’s regime’s side. This light-hearted piece is part of Ensemble MidtVest’s repertoire, Fazil Say wittily explores the delightful possibilities of these five instruments.
