CD of the Month: Music for Nine Winds

Music for Nine Winds | Atéa Quintet

Atéa Quintet – Chris Beagles Horn, Anna Hashimoto Clarinet, Philip Haworth Oboe, Ashley Myall Bassoon, Alena Walentin Flute

…and friends – Jordan Black Clarinet, Paul Cott Horn, Jennifer Melville Oboe, Andrew Watson Bassoon

Coviello Classics COV 91912

Following the success of their debut album the Atéa Quintet, double winners of the Carl Nielsen International Chamber music competition and the current Associate Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, have released their second album; Music for Nine Winds.

This album pairs one of William Alwyn’s later works, Concerto for flute and eight wind instruments with Quentin Poole’s arrangement of  Sonata in F KV497 by W. A. Mozart, the Sonata for Four Hands.

Drama is built in Alwyn’s Concerto with the use of dissonance, and is heightened by the unusual orchestration of instruments. In contrast Poole’s arrangement of Mozart’s Sonata for Four Hands produces a rich symphonic sound. The combination creates a diverse and exciting album.

“Taken as a whole, this is an utterly delightful disc that makes an eloquent and convincing case for the quality of the Alwyn concerto, and offers a truly lovely performance Quentin Poole’s transcription of the Mozart sonata. Perhaps most tellingly, my enjoyment of it has increased with every listening, a true measure of its virtues.” Christopher Hooker BDRS

Available to purchase in our London Showroom and on our website; https://www.howarth.uk.com/pic.aspx?vid=263987