For most listeners this will be off the beaten track. I urge anyone who loves chamber music to invest in this set. It will bring much pleasure. Spohr was an excellent melodist, and his harmonic changes are delightful. His use of diverse instruments is expert, adding to the joy of hearing these four works. This is not deep or angry music; instead, we have the charm of the first movement of the String Sextet; the beauty, simple and touching, of the Adagio from the Piano Quintet, op. 130; the extraordinary invention of the second theme of the Finale of the Piano Quintet with winds, op. 52; and much more. There is something special in his use of resources in the Piano Septet.

Hindemith's writing combines the great contrapuntal sense of Bach with a mastery of modern harmony. These three pieces, with very unusual instrumental combinations, showcase some of his best writing with a fantastic performance from a world class ensemble.

1990 von Dozentinnen und Dozenten der Stiftung Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz gegründet, hat sich das Ensemble Villa Musica einen Namen als führende Kammermusikvereinigung gemacht. Was die Fachpresse immer wieder mit Erstaunen registriert, ist die Vielfalt in Besetzung und Repertoire des Ensembles. Rund 20 der renommiertesten Instrumentalisten Deutschlands haben sich unter dem Spiritus rector Ulf Rodenhäuser zusammengefunden. Sie alle sind heute solistisch, kammermusikalisch und als Professorinnen und Professoren an den großen deutschen Musikhochschulen tätig, nachdem sie lange Jahre an den ersten Pulten der renommiertesten deutschen Orchester wirkten oder noch heute wirken.

Gideon Klein est né en 1919 à Prerov, Tchécoslovaquie (République Tchèque). Il commença l'étude du piano à onze ans avec Ruzena Kurzova, et donna son premier concert à 14 ans. En 1938 il se rendit à Prague, où il fréquenta la Masterclass de piano de Vilém Kurz (1872-1945). Il poursuivit en parallèle des études de théorie musicale, et obtint son diplôme en 1939. Il fut ensuite l'élève d'Alois Hába (1893-1976) pour la composition, et étudia la musicologie à la faculté de philosophie de l'Université Charles à Prague.

For 30 years, the answer to the question "Who's got the best recording of the delightful woodwind chamber of Strauss?" was "Edo de Waart and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble." While there have been other fine recordings, notably the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's DG recording, de Waart and the Netherlanders were so simple, so relaxed, and so virtuosic, so unutterably charming that they were the clear first choice. While this recording by the Ensemble Villa Musica may not be a first choice, it is mighty close. In this the second of two discs dedicated to Strauss' woodwind chamber music, the Ensemble Villa Musica has the same sort of simple grace and easy virtuosity that distinguished de Waart and the Netherlanders. .

One of the continuing appeals of Hans Werner Henze's music is his ability to use the formidable arsenal of twentieth century musical innovations in works that have immediate aural appeal, while probing ambiguous or disturbing layers of meaning lurking beneath the surface. The complexity of his music is generally not so much apparent on its surface as in its psychology. While Henze has written in virtually every genre of music in his long and remarkably productive career, he is essentially a dramatic composer, and it's for his operas, ballets, music theater pieces, vocal music, and film music that he will be most remembered.

For a kinder, gentler, more tuneful, and even a more danceable Stravinsky in his High neo-Classical period, try the wind chamber music Czech-French-American composer Bohuslav Martinu wrote in his High French period. Three of the works on this disc by the Ensemble Villa Musica – Le Revue de Cuisine from 1927, the Sextet from 1929, and the Quartre madrigaux from 1937 – represent Martinu at his Parisian best: archly lyrical, angularly rhythmic, and brilliantly colorful. For a lighter, deeper, more conservative, and even a more melancholy Stravinsky in his postwar late neo-Classical period, try the last work on this disc,

Newcomers to the music of the 19th century sometimes wonder why there are so few Italian compositions in genres of "absolute" music: symphonies, chamber music, piano sonatas. As the booklet notes for this release on the fine German audiophile label MDG point out, the reason is that the institutions supporting these genres were almost completely absent in Italy, whose musical life was organized around the opera. The exception was the municipal wind band, which served as a regional training ground for opera orchestra musicians. This album presents a group of all-but-unknown small chamber pieces for winds by Amilcare Ponchielli, best known for his opera La Gioconda and specifically for the Dance of the Hours instrumental interlude, known to pop fans as "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh."

Although Max Reger (1873-1916) is one of the most mature composers of the 20th century, his death in 1916 in the middle of the Great War may have contributed to the relative lack of interest in his work. It is only in the last two decades that his music is starting to be regarded as truly warranting serious investigation. Both works on this disc date from the last five years of Reger's life and both are among his finest chamber pieces. The String Sextet, Op. 118 was promised to be delivered to the Gewandhaus Chamber Music by March 1911, but the composer found the filling of this obligation to be a hard task.

1849 was a banner year for chamber music output for Robert Schumann. He wrote feverishly, often completing entire compositions in a matter of days with no appreciable loss of quality. Among the instruments to benefit from this frenzy was the cello, which still suffered from a dearth of repertoire. The only original work Schumann penned for cello and piano was the Op. 102 Five Pieces in Folk Style. As was common for the day, Schumann also listed the cello as an "alternate" instrument in both the Op. 70 Adagio and Allegro (originally for horn) and the Op. 73 Fantasiestücke (originally for violin).

Like Smetana’s two quartets and his Piano Trio, strongly programmatic elements underpin both these chamber works, though Fibich cuts a far less original musical mind. Still, the Quintet, which matches piano, wind and strings in a beautifully transparent texture, is blessed with a lyrical melodious opening movement and a charming Scherzo. It receives a sympathetic performance from this excellent ensemble.