Stanton Management

American Brass Quintet 54 th Season 2014 – 2015 www.AmericanBrassQuintet.org

The New York Times has written (12/02/2013) that “ among North American brass ensembles none is more venerable than the American Brass Quintet,” while Newsweek has hailed the ensemble as “ the high priests of brass” and American Record Guide has called the ABQ “ of all the brass quintets, the most distinguished.” Through its acclaimed performances, diverse programming, commissioning, extensive discography and educational mission, the American Brass Quintet has created a legacy unparalleled in the brass field.

The American Brass Quintet, 2013 recipient of Chamber Music America’s highest honor, the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award for significant and lasting contributions to the field, is internationally recognized as one of the premier chamber music ensembles of our time, celebrated for peerless leadership in the brass world. The ABQ's rich history includes performances in Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and all fifty of the United States; a discography of nearly sixty recordings; and the premieres of over one hundred fifty contemporary brass works.

ABQ commissions by Robert Beaser, William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, Huang Ruo, David Sampson, Gunther Schuller, William Schuman, Joan Tower, and Charles Whittenberg, among many others, are considered significant contributions to contemporary chamber music and the foundation of the modern brass quintet repertoire. The ABQ’s Emerging Composer Commissioning program has brought forth brass quintets by Gordon Beeferman, Jay Greenberg, Trevor Gureckis, and Shafer Mahoney. Among the quintet’s recordings are eleven CDs for Summit Records since 1992 including the ABQ’s 50 th Anniversary release State of the Art—The ABQ at 50 featuring recent works written for them.

Committed to the promotion of brass chamber music through education, the American Brass Quintet has been in residence at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970 and at The Juilliard School since 1987. Since 2000 the ABQ has offered its expertise in chamber music performance and training with a program of mini-residencies as part of its regular touring. Designed to offer young groups and individuals an intense chamber music experience over several days, ABQ mini-residencies have been embraced by schools and communities throughout the United States and a dozen foreign countries. Current members of the quintet are Kevin Cobb, Louis Hanzlik, Eric Reed, Michael Powell, and John D. Rojak.

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Stanton Management

American Brass Quintet Selected Foreign and Domestic Reviews

“The American Brass Quintet filled the cathedral Tuesday evening with a range of color and sound that was astonishingly rich and varied...just as impressive was the variety of music involved, taking in its string works from the fifteenth century to present day...show players with the verve and power of this fine quintet. The London Times

“They are doing for brass what Italians did for pasta.” GLAM Adelaide (Australia)

“The five American virtuosos don’t seem to have any technical difficulties whatsoever; they play neck-breaking passages so self-assuredly and easily, as if they were playing flutes or clarinets. The bravura of their solo playing multiplies itself in the super bravura of their ensemble playing.” Badische Zeitung

“This group is of a very high caliber, especially regarding technical mastery and musicality of each member and the intelligence, sensitivity and refinement of the interpretations…the American Brass Quintet possesses, moreover, an art of nuance of which it seems extremely difficult to find many examples.” La Provencal

“One of the strengths of their programming is a focus on performing music specifically written for brass quintet – no ham-fisted arrangements of light classics here. Their longstanding commissioning of contemporary American composers has left an impressive legacy of repertoire for themselves and other ensembles.” Sydney Morning Herald

“The program was clearly the result of careful preparation…the performance both from an individual and ensemble viewpoint was exemplary, and in addition a noble one in quantity and quality, the group pays rewarding attention to dynamic gradation.” Western Mail (Wales)

“Friday's program, eclectic and well-chosen, superbly demonstrated the group's virtuosity, which cast a truly magnetic force on the enthusiastic audience.” Journal de Brasil

“It is quite impossible to overpraise the playing of the American Brass Quintet...they have everything...brilliance, attack, perfect ensemble and intonation, and a tone quality of unrivaled purity, range and power. For one listener in a long and full career of over half a century, this concert was a unique experience.” Daily Telegraph, London

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Stanton Management

“A spectacular demonstration of ensemble virtuosity. The brilliance of their playing is matched by the extraordinary sonics: crystalline definition, airy spaciousness, superb presence and an overall clarity that is positively breathtaking.” The New York Times

“The High Priests of Brass.” Newsweek

“The tone here was to die for…their dynamic shading was exemplary…it was their pianos that told far more than their fortes.” Limelight Magazine (Australia)

“The members of the American Brass Quintet breathe as one, provide effortless well-matched phrasing, and generally produce a superbly balanced, fine golden sound.” Los Angeles Times

“What the American Brass Quintet seemed intent on proving was that anything their instrumental relatives can do, they do as well, or better. No texture, speed, tonal color or dynamic seems to be beyond their means. They sustain whispy pianissimos as easily as deafening fortissimos, and toss off trills with awesome nonchalance. They have an astonishing variety of tonal attacks, and can negotiate melodic passages of a convoluted rapidity that would frighten a coloratura soprano.” The Washington Post

“The American Brass Quintet is probably this country's most distinguished ensemble of its kind now appearing before the public. The Rolls-Royce of brass quintets.” Baltimore Sun

“Suffice it to say that the ABQ virtually invented the modern brass quintet. This release...shows their collective virtuosity burning brighter than ever. Excelsior gentlemen.” FanFare Magazine

“What the ABQ seemed intent on proving was that anything their instrumental relatives can do, they do as well, or better.” The Washington Post

“Describe the ideal in brass playing and you’re talking about the kind of sound and ensemble produced by the American Brass Quintet.” San Francisco Examiner

“The members of the American Brass Quintet breathe as one, provide effortless well-matched phrasing, and generally produce a superbly balanced, fine golden sound.” Los Angeles Times

“Brass quintets are, by their very nature, brilliant to the ear. When reinforced by superb performance the effect is positively dazzling. This is what happened when the American Brass Quintet played.” Denver Post

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Stanton Management

American Brass Quintet Discography Recordings by the American Brass Quintet

Snapshot (Summit DCD 617)* Wks by Gureckis, Mahoney, Morley, Widmann, Ward State of the Art: The ABQ at 50 (Summit DCD 553)* ABQ works of the new millenium (2 cd set) Jewels (Summit DCD 484) Wks. by Lacerda, Lovelock, Needham, Sacco, Sampson, Rieti. In Gabrieli’s Day (Summit DCD 429)* Wks. of Venice c. 1600, with Urban Brass Quintet and Juilliard students American Visions (Summit DCD 365)* Wks. by Adler, Beaser, Schuman, Thomas, Tower, Wagner A Storm in the Land (NW 80608-2)* Music of the 26th N.C. Regimental Band, ABQ Brass Band Classic American Brass (Summit DCD 275)* Masterworks of Carter, Dahl, Sanders, Whittenberg American Brass Quintessence: Music of Five Centuries (Summit DCD 187)* Wks. by Josquin, Stoltzer, Brade, Bach, Cherubini, Ewald, Lazarof and Plog Premier! (Summit DCD 187)* Wks. by Jan Bach, Sampson, Schuller, and Welcher Fyre & Lightning (Summit DCD 181)* Consort Music of 1600 New American Brass (Summit DCD 133)* Wks. by Adolphe, Dennis, Ewazen, Sampson, and Snow The American Brass Quintet (New World NW 377-2)* Wks. by Bolcon, Druckman, Shapey, and Wright Brass Music of St. Petersburg (Musical Heritage Society MHS 7557L) Wks. by Ewald, Bohme, Maurer The American Brass Quintet: The Music of America (Japan VIC 28181)* American Brass Quintet (Crystal CD 214)* Wks. by Bertali, Bach, Ewald, Amy, Lovelock The Yankee Brass Band: Music of the mid-19th Century (New World NW 312-2)* The American Brass Quintet (Music of the mid-1800's) (Titanic Ti 81) The American Brass Quintet (Renaissance and Baroque) (Delos DCD 3003)* Music for Brass 1500-1970 (Desto 6474-77) The American Brass Quintet (MPS 15243 SABA) (Re-released as BASF KMB 20812) The American Brass Quintet: Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto, Italy. (AV4975) The Music from Spoleto (Mercury SR2-9133) 4 for 5: Four Pieces for Five Brass Players (Serenus 12041) Modern Music for Brass (CRI 229) American Brass Music (Nonesuch H-71222) Music of the Renaissance and Baroque (Folkways 33652) Music for Brass Quintet (Folkways 33651)

Collections featuring the American Brass Quintet

Chesapeake—Music of David Sampson—American Brass Quintet and others. (Summit Records)* Regenesis—Music of Renewal—Plog Concerto 2010 with TCU Winds (Albany/Troy 1335) Dectet—The Music of David Sampson—Strata (Troy 780)* Trilogy:Chamber Music of Dan Asia—Brass Quintet (Summit DCD 385)* Meyer Kupferman—Brass Quintet (from 4 for 5 Serenus 12041) Kupferman Orchestral Music Vol. 14 (Soundspells Productions CD 133)* Leonardo Balada—Mosaico (from 4 for 5 Serenus 12041) (Troy 417)* Shadowcatcher —Eric Ewazen (w/Juilliard Wind Ensemble) (NW 80587-2)* Music for the Soloists of the ABQ and Friends by Eric Ewazen(Well Tempered WTP 5189)*

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Stanton Management

Amercian Brass Quintet Discography/Collections Continued

Gunther Becker Portrait (Cybele 660.202)* Music To My Ears. Elizabethan Madrigals (Arabeque Z6695)* Robert Starer. Evanescence (Troy 244)* Robert Starer. Annapolis Suite (MMC 2048)* Chamber Music of Eric Ewazen. Frost Fire (Well Tempered WTP 5172)* Music of David Felder. Canzone XXXI (Bridge BCD 9049)* Jersey Sessions. GGRYYZY MLGORN of Harold Oliver (CGNJ 0989)* Torquemada. Works of Leonardo Balada (New World NW 80442-2)* New York Woodwind Quintet (New World NW 80413-2)* Jan DeGaetani, In Concert Vol. 1 (Bridge BCD 9023)* Music of Ed Bland (Cambria CD-1026)* Vladimir A. Ussachevsky. Dialogues and Contrasts (CRI SD 543) Virgil Thomson: A Portrait Album (Nonesuch D-79024) Contemporary Music: Percussion and Brass (CRI S 327) Brass Quintet of Irwin Bazelon (reissue CRI CD871)* Elliott Carter: Brass Quintet (Columbia Odyssey Y-34137) In the Light (The Music of Keith Jarrett) Brass Quintet (ECM 1033/34) George Walker: Music for Brass-Sacred & Profane (Serenus 12077) (reissue--Troy 154)* The Music of Francis Thorne (Serenus 12035) The Music of John Lessard, Vol. II (Serenus 12026) The Music of Arthur Custer (Serenus 12024) The Music of Vittorio Rieti, Vol. II (Serenus 12023) Excursions (CRI 222)

*denotes available on compact disc

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Stanton Management

American Brass Quintet Index to Included Reviews

Concert Review: American Brass Quintet Limelight Magazine, Sydney 05/19/2014 American Brass Quintet Sydney Morning Herald 05/21/2014 Review: The American Brass Quintet Creativedrinks.com 05/22/2014 Music Review: American Brass Quintet GLAM Adelaide 05/20/2014 Wichita Symphony, American Brass Quintet Wichita Eagle 02/16/2014 A Feast of Chamber Music San Antonio Indecent Light 10/22/2013 Chicago Chamber Musicians and Guests Chicago Classical Review 09/26/2011 American Brass Quintet Lives up to Its Billing Odessa American 04/01/2010 American Brass Quintet The Concordian 05/12/2010 Library Supporters Gather for Guardians Durango Herald 07/18/2009 Review: American Brass Quintet Louisville Courier-Journal 11/09/2008 Making the Utmost Buffalo News 04/05/2008 Quintet, ensemble satisfy The Aspen Times 07/29/2007 A Plucky Trumpet of wind and brass Cleveland Plain Dealer 03/31/2006 Concert delivers Danbury News-Times 04/14/2006 Quintet trumpets renaissance The Aspen Times 03/17/2006 American Brass Quintet performs perfectly Newtown News-Times 10/11/2002 American Brass Quintet gives stunning performance Los Alamos Monitor 04/25/2002 American Brass Quintet Louisville Curier-Journal 04/22/2002 Brass concert includes a bit of history Omaha World-Herald 04/10/2002 Quintet performs Oberlin Review 11/09/2001 Quintet blends finesse and fun Indianapolis Star 03/09/2000 Brass Quintet Charleston Daily Mail 11/20/2000 Brass quintet shows artistry Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 11/14/1995 Brass quintet explores past. Modern works Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 11/14/1995 Taste, brilliance mark brass quintet Baltimore Sun 03/07/1994 Brass quintet maintains supremacy Bryan/College Station Eagle 11/07/1993 American Brass Quintet Wichita Eagle, 09/22/1993 American Brass Quintet gets down to serious business Buffalo News 09/23/1993 Sheer Musical Delight The Daily Oklahoman 09/20/1991 A Golden Age of Brass Newsweek Golden Virtuosity from Brass New York Times 05/18/1980

Recording reviews and magazine feature articles may be found elsewhere on the ABQ website.

620-563-7312
http://stantonmgt.com

Concert review: American Brass Quintet (Musica Viva) - Limelight Magazine http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Tools/Print.aspx?CIID=385969

Concert review: American Brass Quintet (Musica Viva)

Clive Paget | 3.49PM Tuesday, 20 May The ABQ offer a Rolls Royce ride around their eclectic chamber repertoire.

City Recital Hall, Sydney

May 19, 2014

Formed way, way back in 1960, the American Brass Quintet can lay claim to the title “the granddaddy of all brass quintets”. Not that there were any quintet granddaddies onstage last night – the line-up has regenerated Dr Who-like over the years. But still, the five players, who have been in residence at The Juilliard School since 1987, and are offering young Australian players masterclasses wherever their current Musica Viva tour takes them, come with a Rolls Royce pedigree. In other words, if you like brass, sit back and enjoy a leather- upholstered musical ride.

In some ways the program reflected the brass quintet dilemma – where’s the repertoire? Dig back to Renaissance times and you can arrange some Venetian cornett and sackbutt music, otherwise you can look in vain for anything from the likes of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahler et al – pretty much right up until you come to the 1960s.

The ABQ began at the beginning with a delightful suite from Gabrieli and some of his friends. A sonorous tintinnabulation of brassy bells represented Marenzio’s Come down from Paradise , a nifty light-footed Canzon by Luigi Mazzi followed, and then a dignified sacred work by Gabrieli himself, a plucky, canonic Canzonetta by Antonio Cangiasi and a rousing Balletti by Giovanni Gastoldi.

The tone here was to die for – full and rich, yet delicate with a lightness of touch that belies the beer-swilling image of the hefty brass player – you know, the kind that Richard Strauss told you never to look encouragingly at? Their dynamic shading was exemplary – not always the easiest thing to pull off with only an embrasure between you and a split note. In fact, like the best madrigal singers, it was their pianos that told far more than their fortes. In the second half they revisited the Venetian lagoon in three arrangements of Monteverdi vocal works, sharply revealing the chromatic discords that voices can sometimes smooth over, and proving surprisingly adept at bringing out the eroticism of the writing, despite the absence of words.

They followed on with a 1967 suite by the English-born but Australian domiciled founder of the Queensland Conservatorium, William Lovelock. Echoes of Walton, tempered by Holst, with the occasional whiff of the colliery band about it, this was attractive, straightforward music and epitomised the early British quintet repertoire.

One of the other things the ABQ spend a lot of their time doing by the sound of it is commissioning new works. We heard two from the US. The first was by David Sampson, a Virginian who chose to write them a programmatic homage to time spent sailing on the Chesapeake with his father as a boy. The work certainly put them through their paces. Tricksy rhythms and syncopations abounded as we went from launch to cruise to

1 of 2 5/20/2014 6:52 AM Concert review: American Brass Quintet (Musica Viva) - Limelight Magazine http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Tools/Print.aspx?CIID=385969

carousing return (complete with brassy slurs and hiccups).

The other commission came from Joan Tower, a composer who apparently interrogated the group to discover their strengths, weaknesses and brassy foibles before writing a ten-minute miniature masterpiece by the name of Copperwave . The range of timbres required, plus multiple use of mutes, made for a fascinating lesson in what five brass instruments can get up to if they rise to the challenge. Recommended for all, but a must-see for anyone with a hankering for trumpets, horns and trombones.

The American Brass Quintet tour with Musica Viva until May 31.

Copyright © 2014 Limelight. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of Limelight's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions .

2 of 2 5/20/2014 6:52 AM American Brass Quintet melds contemporary sounds with Renaissance notes http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/american-brass-quintet-meld...

9:43PM Wednesday May 21, 2014 19,038 online now Do you know more about a story? Real Estate Cars Jobs Dating Newsletters Fairfax Media Network

American Brass Quintet melds contemporary sounds with Renaissance notes

May 21, 2014 - 12:10PM

Reviewed by Martin Duffy

Email article Print

MUSIC AMERICAN BRASS QUINTET **** Melbourne Recital Centre May 20

Making only their second visit to Australia since their founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet gave a program that mixed the contemporary alongside the glorious sounds of the Italian Renaissance.

One of the strengths of their programming is a focus on performing music specifically written for brass quintet – no ham-fisted arrangements of light classics here. Their longstanding commissioning of contemporary American composers has left an impressive legacy of repertoire for themselves and other ensembles.

To begin they gave a selection of canzoni and dances from Gabrieli and his Venetian contemporaries arranged by former ABQ trumpeter Raymond Mase. Ideally suited to this instrumental grouping, the bright sounds of modern instruments were tempered with a stylistic approach in keeping with more period bands.

The substitution of flugelhorns for trumpets in the Gabrieli and in an arrangement of Three Madrigals by Monteverdi was a delightful surprise bringing the sonorities of their incredibly balanced ensemble even closer together. When playing in unison, the impeccable intonation and sympathetic blend of trumpeters Kevin Cobb and Louis Hanzlik made it impossible to discern their individual sounds.

Their stagecraft is as polished as their instruments, mixing easy patter with their audience between works. It was the contemporary works – Miniature Suite from William Lovelock, Chesapeake by David Sampson and Joan Towers excellent Copperwave – that best showed the strengths and range of this ensemble. Tower’s use of repeating musical cells juxtaposed muted with open timbres, with a series of mini cadenzas highlighting the player’s impressive individual facilities. Recommended Philip Seymour Hoffman won't be digitally recreated… Entertainment

Rolf Harris' 'confession letter' to the father of… World

Liz Hurley says she 'still loves' Shane Warne but has… Life & Style

1 of 2 5/21/2014 6:49 AM Review: The American Brass Quintet | Creative Drinks | Brisbane's Creati... http://www.creativedrinks.com.au/review-the-american-brass-quintet/

Home Who We Are Advertise

HOME THE ARTS FLAUNT SCREEN MUSIC TASTE LATEST NEWS

Artists What's On Search Review: The American Brass Quintet

To search type and hit en

Alex Carrette | On 22, May 2014

Very old and very modern were the two sounds which were demonstrated by the American Brass Quartet last weekend.

At the Queensland Conservatorium Theatre, this ensemble played their second show on their 2014 Australian tour. Though I knew little about them, the fact that the theatre was 95% full was a sign that they had quite a good reputation among classical music aficionados.

When the five musicians walked out on stage, they took their places in a semi-circle facing each other. The group consisted of two trumpeters, a French horn player, a trombonist and a bass trombonist. Without a conductor, ensembles such as the American Brass Quintet have to rely on subtle interactions between the musicians to keep time. They did this perfectly as they began their first piece, the five-movement ‘Elizabethan Ayres’ by the English Renaissance composer Thomas Morley (1557-1602). The stand out moment of this first set of pieces was the in the fourth movement, ‘When Lo, by Breake of Morning’. The beginning of this movement featured only the two trumpets which obviously required a high level of concentration as well as interaction to pull off their duet perfectly.

In between pieces, one of the musicians would get up and explain background of the music to the audience. Before they went into the second movement, trumpeter Kevin Cobb explained how the ABQ has been around for 40 years and how their original goal was to play brass chamber music at the same level as the more popular string chamber groups. He also talked about how the Renaissance was the golden era for brass music. Departing from the Renaissance, they

1 of 4 5/22/2014 6:09 AM Review: The American Brass Quintet | Creative Drinks | Brisbane's Creati... http://www.creativedrinks.com.au/review-the-american-brass-quintet/

then performed ‘Quinteto Concertante’ by the modern Brazilian composer Osvaldo Lacerda (1927-2011). This was a very different piece to its sixteenth-century predecessor. The first movement ‘Chóte’ features plenty of dissonance and trombone slides. These very modern music features continued for the rest of the movements. In fact, by the fourth movement ‘Rondó’, there was not even an apparent time or key signature. ‘Quinteto Concertante’ was certainly very different to ‘Elizabethan Ayres’ but the ABQ managed to pull it off brilliantly.

The American Brass Quintet

Introducing the next piece was bass trombonist John D. Rojak. According to him, a lot of the pieces that the ABQ play are commissioned by them. Also, many are sent in by composers. One such piece was ‘Brass Quintet’ by Jay Greenberg (born 1991), a composer who, unbeknownst to them when they first looked at his piece, was an established child/teen composing protégé. Though it was hardly surprising coming from a much younger composer, ‘Brass Quintet’ contained ever more modern elements than ‘Quinteto Concertante’. Dissonance was aplenty and the first movement was very bizarre and sporadic in places. However, the musicians played it with little apparent difficulty. In this piece was another passage where the two trumpets showed how well they could interact with each other. The same applied for the two trombonists. Towards the end of the piece, there was section that featured extremely fast arpeggios, almost like a dissonant fugue with the fast forward button pressed. When they finished playing this piece, the audience were well and truly impressed.

After the interval, the first piece the group played was ‘Dance Movements’ by David Snow (born 1954). This was the third modern piece that they played and though it did sound different to the previous two, is still contained the modern elements of dissonance and lack of apparent time or key signature. For their final piece, the quintet went back to the Renaissance era by playing ‘Chansons’ by Josquin des Prés (c. 1440-1521). Compared to the often bizarre and dissonant modern pieces, ‘Chansons’ was much more traditional and somewhat relaxing. However, just because it was more traditional didn’t mean that the musicians weren’t able to impress with audience with their talent. As ‘Chansons’ came to a close, the quintet bowed and left the stage, only to re-emerge a few moments later to play their encore, Movement 2 from ‘Mosaics for Brass Quintet’ by Anthony Plog. This short movement featured more of the familiar sporadic dissonance in the evening’s other modern pieces but this too was well-received by the audience.

2 of 4 5/22/2014 6:09 AM Review: The American Brass Quintet | Creative Drinks | Brisbane's Creati... http://www.creativedrinks.com.au/review-the-american-brass-quintet/

The American Brass Quintet, left to right: John D. Rojak, Michael Powell, Eric Reed, Louis Hanzlik and Kevin Cobb

The blending of two very different eras of music served the ABQ very well. As Kevin Cobb explained, in the classical era there wasn’t much music written for brass chamber groups. Most of this comes from the Renaissance and modern eras. Combining these two eras in the one concert not only shows how so many different sounds can be achieved by the same group of musicians, but also how those musicians can move between those styles and play them equally as well. The American Brass Quintet are a highly talented group of musicians and the material they are playing on their currently tour demonstrates this perfectly.

Image credit: The American Brass Quintet official Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBrassQuintet

PREVIOUS STORY NEXT STORY The Story of Winston This is the most recent Ruddle story.

Related Posts

3 of 4 5/22/2014 6:09 AM Music Review: American Brass Quintet | Glam Adelaide http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/music-review-american-brass-quintet/

Event Calendar Glam Membership Subscribe

Music Review: American Brass Quintet

Posted by Gordon Forester on May 31st, 2014 and filed under Breaking News , Music . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 . You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Tweet

The American Brass Quintet is currently touring Australia for the first time in 46 years. Conducting a national charm offensive with the help of Musica Viva, they are doing for brass what Italians did for pasta.

The Adelaide Town Hall concert on Thursday evening demonstrated that the quintet, established in 1960, are not only here for a long time; they’re also here for a good time. Taking to the stage in dark suits and ties, their sharp attire matched their exacting approach to music, but when they started to play, and later speak, their personalities and that of their instruments connected with their audience; one reason for the group’s popularity and longevity.

Many attending were not familiar with the cleverly chosen repertoire, and the ABQ kindly and humbly accounted for this. Good-humoured trumpeter Kevin Cobb schooled us on the pieces In Gabrieli’s Day , the 16 th century compositions from the “golden age of brass”; Sacro tempio d’honor (Sacred temple of honour) by Giovanni Gabrieli a highlight for its exquisite beauty.

Australia’s adopted composer William Lovelock met the previous ABQ incarnation in 1968, and mutual appreciation and a lasting relationship ensued. Producing a sound much bigger and more complex than their number, the group performed his Miniature Suite ; the second movement, Fugue , wonderfully contrasting drama and delicacy.

Bass trombonist John Rojak charismatically introduced Chesapeake ; composer David Sampson’s enchanting, triumphant and engrossing tale of a sailing trip around Chesapeake Bay. The piece’s third movement, Bloody Point , has been amusingly renamed “Bloody Lip” due to the technical challenges for trumpeters, however, Cobb and Louis Hanzlik made the masterful performance look effortless.

After interval, the third of Ludwig Maurer’s Five Pieces , delivered a varying and pendulous rhythm and Claudio Monteverdi’s third madrigal, Ah dolente partita (Ah, painful parting) indicated how we might feel when the ABQ leave town.

The stellar ABQ commissioned 2006 piece Copperwave by Joan Tower saw lightning fast mute changes and delivered extraordinary timbre through ludicrously complex cadenzas. Although a tough act to follow, the encore succeeded with the frenetic and billowing Scherzo from Mosaics by Anthony Plog ending to enthusiastic applause.

The American Brass Quintet’s wonderful performance proved that brass isn’t only bold; it can also be subtle, expressive and exciting.

Praising the Adelaide Town Hall and McLaren Vale (following an earlier-in-the-day wine tasting), the ABQ promised to not wait 46 years until their next visit. Well gentlemen, we’re going to hold you to that.

The final Australian concert of the American Brass Quintet is Saturday 31 May in Sydney .

Reviewed by Gordon Forester (@GordonForester)

Venue: Adelaide Town Hall

Season: 29 May 2014 Duration: 2 hours Bookings: Musica Viva

American Brass Quintet

2 of 4 6/2/2014 7:09 AM Wichita Symphony, American Brass Quintet paint musical portrait of Ame... http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/16/3293073/wichita-symphony-america...

2 of 3 2/16/2014 11:43 AM Incident Light http://www.incidentlight.com/Music reviews/abq&olmos131022.html

American Brass Quintet, Olmos Ensemble A feast of chamber music, new and old

October 22, 2013

With concerts piling up in the usual October rush, this review will have to be a two-fer, covering brass (the American Brass Quintet on Sunday afternoon) and woodwinds, strings and keyboard (the Olmos Ensemble on Monday night). Percussionists will have to beat their own drums.

The American Brass Quintet’s concert, a rare foray into the brass repertoire for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, ranged from the 16th century to the near-present.

One of the troupe’s trumpeters, Raymond Mase, created idiomatic arrangements of Renaissance vocal material, three madrigals by Luca Marenzio and five chansons by Josquin des Prés. These sounded wonderful in the airy acoustics of Temple Beth-El, even if the spacious sound took a little of the bite away from Josquin’s familiar “El Grillo.”

Strongest of the contemporary works was the American composer Joan Tower’s “Copperwave,” commissioned for the ABQ by the Juilliard School. It begins with a six-note motto that serves as the touchstone for the entire 10-minute work. It’s a dramatic, arresting piece, gaining rhythmic vibrancy from the use of a conga-dance rhythm. It’s expertly crafted: Ms. Tower finds seemingly endless possibilities in that generative motto through processes of variation, elaboration and deconstruction. The structure is rather like a sequence of rooms with differing spatial character, and it closes with a cadenza for each of the players.

Also memorable was the Fantasia e Rondó (1977) by the Brazilian composer Ovaldo Lacerda, whose ingratiating and rhythmically eccentric Three Pieces for Oboe were heard on an Olmos ensemble concert in August.

Like that work, the Fantasia e Rondó is a little hard to peg, stylistically. The Fantasia is witty and sometimes woozy, colored with rich modern-jazz harmonies, and notable for passages of chattering from muted trumpets. The lively, infectious Rondó has more distinctly Brazilian character. The whole piece is at once familiar and exotic, and altogether delicious.

The American composer David Sampson’s “Chesapeake,” composed for the ABQ in 2010, is a four-movement piece about sailing. The music is tonal, with yearning, big-sky harmonies, and intricate counterpoint always keeps wind in the sails.

Pleasant but slight were five Romantic salon pieces by Ludwig Maurer, a German who spent his professional life in St. Petersburg.

The performances were consistently taut, polished and lively. The players were undaunted by any and all virtuosic demands. Joining Mr. Mase were Kevin Cobb (trumpet), David Wakefield (horn), Michael Powell (trombone) and John D. Rojak (bass trombone).

The Olmos Ensemble’s mostly-baroque concert in First Unitarian Universalist Church was notable for two débuts.

The Korean native Jae Ha is principally an organist -- he earned his doctorate in organ performance from UT-Austin in 2003 and since then has been organist at San Antonio’s First Presbyterian Church. But for this concert he played the harpsichord throughout the program, in music by Handel, Telemann, Boccherini and Handel, and turned out some of the most imaginative and astute continuo work I’ve heard. He was improvising, in the main, because the continuo is

1 of 2 10/23/2013 8:04 AM

5/12/2010 The Concordian - American Brass Quint… The Concordian

American Brass Quintet brings their gifts to Concordia

Tim Pipinich, A&E Writer

Last weekend was an incredibly busy and exciting time for the music students at Concordia College as more than 70 students from 43 high schools representing four regional states convened on our campus for the third annual Honor Band event. Students from the Concordia Band as well as those selected by audition for the Honor Band had the distinct pleasure and honor to work with esteemed composer Dr. David Gillingham in addition to our own excellent campus band directors Dr. Scott A. Jones and Dr. Nathaniel Dickey. Also on campus that weekend was internationally renowned chamber ensemble, The American Brass Quintet. This is far from the first prominent chamber Hanna Stevens ensemble to grace us with their presence at Concordia, but this group displayed a level of professionalism and focus rarely seen Related that resulted in an incredibly satisfying experience.

In the midst of their 50th anniversary, The American Brass More Arts & Entertainment Headlines Quintet shows no signs of slowing down. The current lineup Jazz I performs at 222 with several guests consists of Raymond Mase and Kevin Cobb on trumpet, David Wakefield on French Horn, Michael Powell on trombone and American Brass Quintet brings their gifts to John Rojak on bass trombone. While none of these are the Concordia original members, they like to remind their audiences with Oratorio to bring together choirs, orchestras for tongues firmly in cheek that they have 125 years of combined one monumental performance service to the group. This level of musical experience and “Kick-ass” is, well, kick-ass familiar intimacy translated into a homogeneity that was truly a The quest for fine dining in F/M can lead to wonder to behold and they succeeded in maintaining the high culinary adventures and some surprises performance standards set forth by their predecessors.

With an emphasis on education and a passion for spreading their art form that draws from their experience as holders of permanent residencies at The Juilliard School and the Aspen Music Festival for more than 20 years, The American Brass Quintet did far more than merely perform for this community. Their stay entailed a mini-residency in which performance masterclasses and educational sessions were also presented both here at Concordia and at Fargo South High School. One such session focused on the commissioning of new works, which this group has extensive experience with (The American Brass Quintet have premiered more than 100 contemporary brass works during their existence).

Perhaps the most interesting and memorable sessions presented by The American Brass Quintet were the masterclasses both for chamber groups and specific instruments. This author personally participated in the chamber ensemble masterclass in which members of the Quintet worked with and coached student brass quintets. Their musical intuition proved most effective and was delivered without any sign of condescension or intimidation. With suggestions that were both creative and practical, they contributed to the musical growth of all involved.

Their stay in the Fargo-Moorhead community culminated in a Cultural Events/Performing Arts Series concert at Concordia College on Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. The concert began with a series of brass canzoni from the 17th century that have lost none of their luster with such fine performances that were precise yet still full of feeling. The remainder of their concert largely consisted of 20th century music that was both of the tonal and atonal variety. Perhaps the most challenging and innovative work on the concert program was a new work by Gordon Beeferman which included sixth-tones, meaning that there were musical pitches that were one-sixth of the size of a typical Createdlivewiredj.net/concordian/…/article.php?… with Print2PDF. To remove this line, buy a license at: http://www.software602.com/ 1/2 5/12/2010 The Concordian - American Brass Quint… whole-step musical interval resulting in some jarringly different sounds.

As The American Brass Quintet left our campus for another performance at Oberlin College, it was clear that they had left a valuable imprint at Concordia. Their no-nonsense approach that focused solely on music, composers and students was a welcome departure from the commercialism and external distractions that come with many groups of a similar stature. I can only hope that they return to our campus someday soon to inspire a new generation of students and musicians.

Opinions Features Editorial Why You Should Consider the Lutheran College Sports Washington Semester Program Experiencing opening day at Target Field Sassy senior wisdom with Sean Big shoes to fill AN ALTERNATIVE TO A SUMMER JOB Re: Adam Twardowski’s 4/16 article Beyond BREW The Final Countdown

Arts & Entertainment Jazz I performs at 222 with several guests American Brass Quintet brings their gifts to Concordia Oratorio to bring together choirs, orchestras for one monumental performance “Kick-ass” is, well, kick-ass The quest for fine dining in F/M can lead to culinary adventures and some surprises

News Features Opinions Arts & Entertainment Sports Advertising Contact Us

Copyright © 2010, The Concordian Online Edition. Powered by PacerCMS

Createdlivewiredj.net/concordian/…/article.php?… with Print2PDF. To remove this line, buy a license at: http://www.software602.com/ 2/2