SPOHR, HUMMEL, BERWALD, KREUTZER, BEETHOVEN & SCHUBERT : Septets, Octets & Nonets (2006) 6CD | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

In hard times, everyone is looking for the killer deal. In respect to wind chamber music of the early romantic period, one could hardly do better than with Brilliant Classics' Romantic Ensembles, a six-CD box set that contains much of the major wind literature from the first half of the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a fad in Europe for harmoniemusik -- groups of wind bands that usually played potpourris of operatic hits -- was current. Composers such as Hummel, Kreutzer, Spohr, Schubert, Berwald, and Beethoven here seized upon this format to express more complex and ambitious musical concepts. Beethoven's Septet in E flat, Op. 20, though not as highly regarded some of his symphonies in retrospect, played a major role in establishing Beethoven's reputation as a composer. The Schubert Octet in F, D. 803, and Berwald's Grand Septet in B flat were works that looked to Beethoven's as a kind of model; others represented here to some degree tap into the eighteenth century approach to harmoniemusik and forges something new and original out of it. The early nineteenth century was the most fruitful era of any concerning developments in the wind chamber format; as such groups merged into larger units and became more concerned with popular music, interest among composers in producing works like these began to flag in the latter half of the century.

One of the reasons this modest and innocuous-looking box is so desirable is the performances included. These are not just any groups performing these works, but top-flight ensembles -- The Berlin Philharmonic Octet, the Wiener Kammerensemble, and Britain's the Nash Ensemble. The reason that this can be marketed so cheaply is that all are older recordings, but most are at least digital and the performances are all first-rate. Brilliant Classics' Romantic Ensembles would make a lovely gift for a wind player, or someone specifically interested in wind ensemble music, and the modest asking price won't break the bank. by Uncle Dave Lewis  
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