Recordings

This fine Los Angeles-based quintet--flutist Ellen Holt, oboist Kathleen McNerney, clarinetist Kathryn Nevin, bassoonist Theresa Treuenfels and hornist Rachel Berry--proceeds from Bach to Zappa here, through a broad swath of composers, projecting solid musical values all the way. The stately opening, Bach’s “Little” Fugue in G Minor (arranged by Roger Stevens), nicely articulates the contrapuntal lines in the realm of wind textures. Elliott Carter’s 1948 Woodwind Quintet, less severe than his later music, has a characteristic, energetic sense of dialogue the group seems to savor. Carl Nielsen’s 1922 Quintet, Opus 43, is the most substantial work here, played with clarity and purpose. Lalo Schifrin’s tango-tinged “La Nouvelle Orleans” dances. By the time the group arrives at the smart urbanity of Zappa’s Wind Quintet--all 48 feisty seconds of it--it has crossed all the style lines and gotten away with it.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).