Martinu Nonet

The standard nonet – consisting of five wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon) and four stringed instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass) – is the mid-size SUV of chamber ensembles: hefty enough to produce pseudo-orchestral horsepower, but still maneuverable enough to accelerate from zero to sixty at a respectable clip. Nowhere are its virtues more evident than in this 1989 album from Ensemble Wien-Berlin (a super-group of principal players from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, formed earlier in the decade), whose jocular interplay and burnished blend bring shine to two of the finest works written for the nonet, Louis Spohr’s seminal 1813 Nonet in F and Bohuslav Martinu’s zingy, neo-classical Nonetto No. 2.

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,

Bohuslav Martinu - Ensemble Villa Musica - Chamber Music
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 248 MB | Full Artwork: 88 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 304 0774-3 | Country/Year: Germany 1998
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century

…Ensemble Villa Musica was founded in 1990 when a group of principal players from several of Germany's major orchestras assembled for master classes in Mainz under the state-sponsored Villa Musica foundation. The players decided to form the group with no limitations in repertory, but with a focus on neglected masterworks of the past. Most of the members retained their posts in orchestras and/or on the faculties of universities or music schools. The ensemble's leader since its founding has been clarinetist Ulf Rodenhäuser…

Bohuslav Martinu - Ensemble Villa Musica - Chamber Music
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 248 MB | Full Artwork: 88 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 304 0774-3 | Country/Year: Germany 1998
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century

…Ensemble Villa Musica was founded in 1990 when a group of principal players from several of Germany's major orchestras assembled for master classes in Mainz under the state-sponsored Villa Musica foundation. The players decided to form the group with no limitations in repertory, but with a focus on neglected masterworks of the past. Most of the members retained their posts in orchestras and/or on the faculties of universities or music schools. The ensemble's leader since its founding has been clarinetist Ulf Rodenhäuser…

Louis Spohr - Ensemble Villa Musica - Septet Op 147, Quintet Op 130
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 241 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 304 0534-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1994
Genre: Classical | Style: Classicism/Romanticism

The Ensemble Villa Musica (EVM) is a chamber group that has garnered much praise for its spirited performances in varied repertory since its founding in 1990. The number of players in the ensemble can vary according to the work performed, typically expanding from a duo to a quintet or all the way to a nonet, though the number of ensemble members is nearly 20 and can thus accommodate larger works. The group's repertory is broad, encompassing compositions by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Hindemith, Martinu, as well as contemporary composers such as Penderecki and Hans Werner Henze. The ensemble has recorded for the German label MDG and for Naxos….