Michigan Chamber Brass

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The Ewald is the central work on the program. A Russian contemporary of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, Ewald was far and away the best composer of brass music in the nineteenth century, and his Quintet no. 3 is arguably the height of his achievement. With its dashing opening Allegro moderato and its vivacious closing Vivo surrounding a beguiling Intermezzo and a soulful Andante with an unforgettable trumpet melody, Ewald's Third Quintet is one of the greatest brass works ever. Also on the program are Canadian composer Morley Calvert's heart-warming, pulse-pounding Suite from the Monteregian Hills, and brass transcriptions of Fats Waller's always infectious "Ain't Misbehavin'" and of works by Dukas and Debussy.   

[Originally published in March, 2004.]