Presents
August Winding
String Quintet in D Major, Op.23
For 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello
"It is hard to understand how a fine work like Winding's Op.23 String Quintet has flown beneath the radar of all of the standard chamber music reference sources. This is a quintet which is not only fun to play but also good to hear and sure to please an audience for whom it is performed. The work is in five movements. The first movement, Allegro grazioso, is filled with lovely, long-lined melodies, much lyricism and effective dramatic climaxes. The lovely second movement, Allegretto, is subtitled Intermezzo. It is in the tradition of a Mendelssohnian song without words and has nicely contrasting canonic middle section. The middle movement, Andante Largo, has for its main theme a somber, stately folktune. A somewhat stormy middle section with Hungarian overtones interrupts the calm of the main section. Next comes a wonderful Scherzo, fleet, yet elegant. The celebratory finale, Allegro con fuoco, is an energetic, jovial romp. The Quintet has no technical difficulties and almost plays itself. The part-writing is quite good and each of the voices is given an interesting part to play. I warmly recommend pieces not only to amateurs, but feel that professionals would do well to bring it to the concert hall."---Editor of The Chamber Music Journal
August Winding (1835-1899) was born in the Danish town of Tars on the island of Lolland. As a boy, he studied piano locally before entering the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied piano with Anton Ree and composition with Carl Reinecke. He completed his composition studies with Niels Gade and continued his piano studies with the famed virtuoso Alexander Dreyschock. He enjoyed a European career as a concert pianist, and also served as a teacher and professor at the Royal Danish Conservatory. Among Winding’s compositions are concerti, works for orchestra, a piano quartet and this string quintet which dates from around 1885. Premiered in Copenhagen and then in Germany to great acclaim, it has inexplicably, along with so many other fine works, disappeared from the concert halls of today.
Long out of print, it is a real pleasure to make a work such as this available once again and hope that it will find its rightful place on the music stands of both amateurs and professionals.
Parts: $29.95
Parts & Score: $36.95
