Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields Wind Ensemble

Wind players from one of the world's finest chamber orchestras, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, return to the Chamber Arts Series with a vibrant program of small-scale chamber works.

There are two milestone quintets featured in this program by Mozart and Beethoven respectively, referencing one another both in their scoring and key signatures. After the premiere of his Quintet, Mozart wrote to his father saying 'I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life.' With extensive sketches in existence for this piece, it was clearly a project Mozart had laboured over - surprising for a composer not usually known for rewriting material. Beethoven takes his lead from Mozart in his youthful Quintet, written in his twenties when he was exploring the sonic possibilities of instruments in a chamber setting. We're also presented with two trios in this concert, one by the French neoclassical composer Jean Françaix and another lively offering by the German Romantic composer Reinecke.