Fraser Macpherson Quintet

The debut album from the Fraser Smith Quartet is mixed, mastered and ready for release on Ubuntu records.

The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet; founded in 1950; comprised the principal woodwinds and French horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra. They made their recording debut for Columbia in 1953: four players from the ensemble were joined by pianist Rudolf Serkin in the Beethoven and Mozart Quintets in E-flat. Serkin; a frequent soloist with the orchestra; had been so taken by the artistry and tonal colors of its first-chair winds that he approached them about making a record together. So began the group’s history at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio in Manhattan. It would span 15 years; during which the ensemble naturally focused on the many outstanding works scored for standard woodwind quintet. But guest performers often joined them on recordings as well as in concerts; extending their repertoire to include not only composers of their own time; but even music outside the classical sphere written by the legendary jazz trumpeter Ornette Coleman.

Rosa Morta is a 2016 collaborative album between Scottish keyboardists Craig Armstrong and Scott Fraser. This was released by the CMA label.

Boccherini was born in the Tuscan city of Lucca in 1743. He was the third child of Maria Santa and of Leopoldo Boccherini. Having received his first musical instruction from Leopoldo, Luigi, became a student of music at the local seminary, where he met Abbot Vannucci, an appreciated professor of cello, of harmony, and of counterpoint. Luigi’s progress was steady and quick, and already at thirteen he was employed as a cellist at theatres and churches of his birth city.

The five wind quintets recorded on this album clearly refer to the neoclassical style, which is directly related to the genre preferences and musical language of each of the presented Polish artists active in the 20th and early 21st centuries.