LIMITED EDITION. SINGLE PRESSING ONLY.
Led by clarinettist Alfred Boskovsky, the first line-up of the Vienna Octet made its last recording for Decca in 1972, but Boskovsky was behind the revival of the group’s name, having already chosen the young members of the Vienna Philharmonic who would carry on the work of the ensemble and its traditions of superbly mellifluous, silver-toned playing. Boskovsky’s successor in the clarinet chair of the new Octet was Peter Schmidl, who contributes unique recollections to the booklet essay (by Peter Quantrill).
Like their predecessors, the members of the Octet enjoyed an exclusive contract with Decca, and they began recording in 1977 with the same two classics of the Classical repertoire which defined their sound and their musical approach, the Octet by Schubert and the Septet by Beethoven – the set affords the fascinating opportunity to compare these interpretations with their digital-era remakes from 1990. At the same time, Schmidl and his colleagues in the VPO wind section established a wind ensemble along similar lines – the Vienna Wind Soloists (Wiener Bläserensemble (Vienna Wind Soloists) – and their debut was much more adventurous, featuring works by Hindemith, Janáček and Ligeti which nevertheless glowed in the reflection of the distinctively transparent Vienna wind sound.
The Wind Soloists went to DG in 1977 for a single recording, of the Wind Quintet by Schoenberg which Schmidl looks back on as a highlight of his career, but otherwise both ensembles found their natural home in the music of Mozart, making recordings of the Clarinet Trio and Quintet (Schmidl the soloist) and the three great wind serenades which have scarcely been rivalled on disc for instinctively flexible phrasing and sheer beauty of sound. The group’s final sessions in 1992 included a pair of Beethoven rarities, the early Octet and Sextet, setting the seal on an often-underrated group of recordings which fully stand comparison with the more famous Vienna Octet recordings from the 50s and 60s.
CD 1
SCHUBERT Octet (1976–77)
New Vienna Octet
FIRST RELEASE ON CD
CD 2
BEETHOVEN Septet (1977)
New Vienna Octet
Trio, Op. 11
Peter Schmidl · Friedrich Dolezal · Erich Binder
CD 3
MOZART Clarinet Quintet (1977)
New Vienna Octet
Clarinet Trio, K. 498 ‘Kegelstatt’*
Peter Schmidl · Josef Staar · Heinz Medjimorec
*FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 4
BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet*
WEBER ‘Silvana’ Variations
New Vienna Octet
*FIRST RELEASE ON CD
CD 5
BRAHMS Clarinet Trio
Peter Schmidl · Friedrich Dolezal · András Schiff
Horn Trio
Günter Högner · Erich Binder · András Schiff
CD 6
MOZART Clarinet Quintet (1989)
WEBER Clarinet Quintet
Wiener Oktett
CD 7
SCHUBERT Octet (1990)
Wiener Oktett
Minuet & Finale, D.72
Vienna Wind Soloists
CD 8
BEETHOVEN Septet (1991)
Wiener Oktett
Sextet
Vienna Wind Soloists
CD 9
SCHOENBERG Wind Quintet*
Vienna Wind Soloists
*DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON RECORDING · FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 10
IBERT Trois Pièces brèves*
JANÁČEK Mládi*
HINDEMITH Kleine Kammermusik, Op. 24 No. 2*
LIGETI Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet
Vienna Wind Soloists
*FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 11
DANZI Wind Quintet, Op. 56 No. 1
CAMBINI Wind Quintet No. 3
REICHA Wind Quintet, Op. 91 No. 3
Vienna Wind Soloists
FIRST RELEASE ON CD
CD 12
TAFFANEL Wind Quintet in G minor*
FRANÇAIX Wind Quintet No. 1°
Vienna Wind Soloists
*FIRST RELEASE ON CD
°FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 13
MOZART · HAYDN · BEETHOVEN
Music for Mechanical Clock
Vienna Wind Soloists
CD 14
MOZART Adagio, K. 411*
Serenade, K. 361 ‘Gran Partita’
Vienna Wind Soloists
*FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 1
MOZART Serenades, K. 375 & 388
BEETHOVEN Octet
Vienna Wind Soloists
CD 16
IN HONOUR OF ST. HUBERT
A Hunt through the Vienna Woods
Wiener Waldhornverein
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CD RELEASE
CD 17
MOZART Flute Sonatas, K. 10–15
Wolfgang Schulz · Heinz Medjimorec
FIRST RELEASE ON CD
CD 18
HAYDN Trios, Hob. XV:15–17
Vienna Flute Trio
FIRST RELEASE ON CD
“Try [Schoenberg’s Wind Quintet] in a performance by the Vienna Wind Soloists so warm and clear and scrupulous that what may once have passed as complexity becomes variety, and density richness.’ Gramophone, December 1977
“If the performance is somewhat less gemütlich than the earlier ones by the Vienna Octet, it is superbly poised and polished, and the recording is sensationally well balanced.” Stereo Review, July 1978 (Schubert: Octet – 1976-77 recording)
“The three works are given superlative performances by the Vienna Wind Soloists, who are treated to a recording of comparable quality.” Gramophone, December 1978 (Cambini, Danzi, Reicha)
“I have little but praise for the ensemble, balance, careful dynamics and musicality of this group of Vienna Philharmonic players.” Gramophone, March 1980 (Françaix, Taffanel)
“The New Vienna Octet on Decca are out-and-out winners, colouring every subsidiary thread yet never leaving you in any doubt as to where your ear really ought to be … the Viennese team do somehow remind you that they come from Schubert-land.” Gramophone, September 1980 (Schubert: Octet)
“The new ensemble retains much of [the old Octet’s] sweetness and amiability … The key to the new performance is the sense of uninhibited pleasure with which the players pick up their entries. I have never heard the Scherzo’s Trio launched with such relish, such generosity of spirit and tone, as it is here.” Gramophone, May 1981 (Beethoven: Septet)
“The eloquent soaring clarinet line of the opening phrase immediately sets the seal on what is to be a passionately committed reading throughout … The Weber [Variations] are deliciously played.” Gramophone, October 1981 (Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, Weber)
“The golden horn tone, liquid clarinet and sweet but slightly ‘slidy’ lead violin are all part of that incomparable [Viennese] style.” Gramophone, February 1993 (Schubert: Octet – 1991 recording)
“The Vienna Wind Soloists’ broad, fluid phrasing and alert musical response contribute to aptly characterised interpretations of both works.” Gramophone, March 1995 (Mozart: Wind Serenades K.375 & 388)
“A gloriously warm-hearted and sparking account … straight to the top of the list.” Penguin Guide, 1996 (Schubert: Octet – 1991 recording)
“Over the years the Vienna Octet have been justly famous for their recordings of Beethoven’s Septet for Decca, and this newest version is no disappointment … The recording is wonderfully warm and real.” Penguin Guide, 1996 (Beethoven: Septet – 1991 recording)
“Schiff’s music-making here is never less than intelligent and tasteful. He is a sensitive partner in the trios” Fanfare, Nov/Dec 2013 (Brahms Trios)
“This is a splendid release … The Vienna Winds make me realize that other performers simply haven’t mastered the technical problems sufficiently to be able to express the composer’s intentions. Without robbing these works of any vigor or tartness they reveal a tenderness which makes the experience even richer.” Fanfare, Sept/Oct 1978 (Hindemith, Ibert, Janáček, Ligeti)
“The playing is beautiful in tone, very expressive, totally responsive to Schoenberg’s elaborate demands. Recorded sound is excellent” Fanfare, Sept/Oct 1982 (Schoenberg)