RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

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Antonín REJCHA [Anton / Antoine REICHA] (1770 -1836) Wind Quintet in Bb, Op 88, #5 (1817) [33.25] Wind Quintet in C, Op 91, #1 (1818) [29.39] Michael Thompson Wind Quintet: Michael Thompson, horn; Jonathan Snowden, flute; Derek Wickens, oboe; Timothy Lines, clarinet; John Price, bassoon. Recorded at St. Paul’s Church, Rusthal, Kent, England, 27 November 1995. Notes in English and Deutsch NAXOS 8.554227 [63.04]

Comparison Recording of Reicha Wind Quintet: Op 88 #5 Academia Wind Quintet of Prague, Hyperion CDD22006 These pieces by Beethoven-contemporary Reicha, Professor of Counterpoint and Fugue at the Paris Conservatory, reside among the greatest music ever written. When they were composed they went at once to the "top of the charts" and brought to their composer even greater renown although he was already a popular and respected figure. Reicha did for the wind quintet what Bach did for the keyboard prelude and fugue, what Haydn did for the string quartet, what Mozart did for the symphony — that is, he lifted it to Parnassus. It was only the decline in the popularity of wind ensemble music in general that caused these works to fall out of currency, but that situation is being remedied. Reicha eventually became a French citizen so the French spelling of his name is very often the one encountered; Liszt, Gounod, Berlioz and Franck were among his pupils. One can imagine the collected professors of the Conservatoire as they performed these works in the Grand Foyer of the Théâtre Favart in the years up to 1820. The richness of invention, the tunefulness, the variety of sound qualities, rhythmic variation are endlessly fascinating, endlessly delightful. This is a disk you will enjoy listening to over and over again, and it will make you hunger for more. Good news! There are 22 more quintets yet to hear! Both recordings are digitally recorded and beautifully performed. There is very little basis to choose between the two, but perhaps the English players have just the slightest edge in playful good spirits. But, then, you get more quintets with the Hyperion two disk set. Since there is only one overlap between the two, you might want to have both as I do. There is no indication that Naxos intend to continue recording more these wonderful and underappreciated works, but let’s hope they do. Paul Shoemaker see also review by Jonathan Woolf   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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