Music for Nine Winds

Album review

In this – their second album with Coviello Classics – the Atéa Wind Quintet pairs William Alwyn’s unique and luscious Concerto for flute and eight instruments with Quentin Poole’s arrangement of Mozart’s Sonata for Four Hands (KV497). Wiliam Alwyn’s Concerto for Flute and eight wind instruments brings a burst of sound and busy intertwining lines, showcasing the many styles of music he wrote over his lifetime; from orchestral symphonies, to film scores, to operas and concertos. According to the composer: “It came (to me) like recollections of joy once experienced. I just wanted to write a piece of musical beauty”. Alwyn relished dissonance, which adds to the drama of this concerto, with the unusual orchestration of all wind instruments. This unusual instrumentation is expertly paired with Quentin Poole’s fine arrangement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata for Four Hands (KV497) in F Major. An oboist and former boy chorister himself, Quentin expertly uses the different colours of the wind nonet to achieve a rich symphonic blend, whilst also showcasing each instrument in key moments to highlight Mozart’s delicate passages passed across the group. © Coviello Classics