When people think of Beethoven they may think of the heaven-storming symphonies or the intellectually probing string quartets or the emotionally revealing piano sonatas...but how often do people think of Beethoven's chamber music for winds? Probably not too often: after all, compared with his symphonies, quartets, and sonatas, Beethoven's chamber music for winds seems not only atypical but beside the point. Most of it was written shortly after the time he moved from Bonn to Vienna and most of it was written to charm, delight, and entertain. And how much of Beethoven's later music was composed with those goals in mind?
But as this 1986 recording by the wind soloists from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe shows, Beethoven is in his own way as successful at entertaining as he is at storming. In the four-movement sextet and octet, the three-movement quintet and the single-movement Rondino, Beethoven could be just as charming and delightful as Mozart when he wanted to be. Although the COE soloists lack the gemütlichkeit of Austrian ensembles, their tone is still lovely, their blend is still flawless, their ensemble is still impeccable, and their sense of fun is still irresistible. And although made in the very early years of digital recordings, the sound of this disc is still very live and very real. Anyone who loves Beethoven should someday hear his chamber music for winds -- and this disc is about as good a way to hear it as there is.
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