A trio of wind octets headline the May 2nd concert of the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble, at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, 1201 N Robinson, near downtown Oklahoma City.
“Symphony of Winds” Program:
Beethoven, Octet for Winds in E-flat major, Op. 103
Mozart, Selections from The Magic Flute, arr. Joseph Heidenreich for Wind Octet
Gounod, Petite Symphonie pour Vents
Musicians for this regular season finale will be Parthena Owens, flute; Lisa Harvey-Reed and Shawn Welk, oboe; Chad Burrow, clarinet; Rod Ackmann and Larry Reed, bassoon; and Kate Pritchett and Mirella Gable, horn.
The “early-yet-late” Octet for Winds of German composer Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1792. The piece was reworked and expanded in 1795 and published in 1832, some five years after the composer’s death (thus the high opus number).
Beethoven’s octet was so popular that the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer later commissioned Franz Schubert to write one just like it. The Schubert octet was presented earlier in the season by Brightmusic.
Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Magic Flute” ranks among the most frequently performed of all operas and was immensely popular in the composer’s own day, receiving hundreds of performances in the 1790s.
The composer did not live to see its milestone 100th performance in 1792, having died in December of 1791. Joseph Heidenreich, a contemporary of Mozart, arranged some of the most popular tunes from the opera for wind octet, a popular practice of the day.
Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphonie pour Vents (little symphony for winds) was commissioned by a Parisian wind ensemble. The four movement miniature symphony, composed and first performed in 1885 and originally scored for eight players, was not published until 1904.
The miniature symphony was modeled after Mozart’s ever-popular wind serenades.
The Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble is Oklahoma City’s foremost presenter of classical chamber music. For more information, visit us at www.brightmusic.org.
The ensemble’s May 2 performance will take place at First Baptist Church, 1201 N Robinson in Oklahoma City. Free parking is available north and southwest of the building. Handicap access is available through the door under the awning on the south side of the building.
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