Brass (2007)

The members of the brass section of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra created their own ensemble in 2003 in order to demonstrate the versatility of brass instruments to a wider public through performances and teaching residencies. These performances, conducted by Ivan Meylemans, display all the virtuosity and brilliance one would expect from the members of one of the world's premiere orchestras. The repertoire the group has chosen for its first album, an SACD, includes music from the late Renaissance and from the twentieth ... Read More

The members of the brass section of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra created their own ensemble in 2003 in order to demonstrate the versatility of brass instruments to a wider public through performances and teaching residencies. These performances, conducted by Ivan Meylemans, display all the virtuosity and brilliance one would expect from the members of one of the world's premiere orchestras. The repertoire the group has chosen for its first album, an SACD, includes music from the late Renaissance and from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries being rather barren periods for brass ensemble music. The antiphonal Canzon by Giovanni Gabrieli shows off the ensemble's polish and precision. The modern works vary widely in style and idiom. Willem van Otterloo's Serenade (1944, revised 1976) is scored for an uncredited mixed ensemble, but the brass are featured prominently in this perky neo-Classical suite. The most fun piece on the CD is Henze's... Read Less