# Romantic Wind Ensembles



## Conky (Apr 1, 2013)

So I've been listening to classical for a little while, and, being a complete newbie, I really like Romantic music. I went looking for some string quintets, but everything I could find was from the 20th-21st centuries. Can anyone recommend some good wind ensemble pieces, or pieces at least involving winds, from the 19th century Romantics?

Part of my problem is that if I narrow everything down to just wind quintets, I find nothing, while if I broaden my search to include anything involving a wind instrument, I find too _much_ material. That's where you guys come in. What are your favorites?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Well, an obvious starting point is Dvorak's Serenade for Winds, Op. 44. A very popular, tuneful work definitely from the "romantic" age.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

It´s not strictly Romantic, but there´s a chance you´ll like *Carl Nielsen*:

_Wind Quintet_ https://www.google.dk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=nielsen+quintet+youtube
_Serenata in Vano_ 




Then there´s *Schubert*´s Octet for winds & strings 



*Berwald*´s Septet 



and *Rimsky-Korsakov*´s Quintet for piano & winds 




*Franz Danzi* 



and *Antonin Rejcha* 



wrote large amounts of often charming music for wind quintet, though their style is a bit earlier.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

I agree that Reicha is definitely work checking out. My favourite is easily the Op. 100 No. 5 Wind Quintet:


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

Mendelssohn's Op. 24 may be of interest to you.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I am going to try to recommend some unconventional stuff.

Mendelssohn _Overture for Winds, Op. 24_: This is a classic band work that he composed when he was a teenager. The instrumentation is like a modern band without saxophones. My favorite recording which uses the original instrumentation is: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=785182

One has to be careful in that there have been transcriptions for modern bands.

Camillo De Nardis _Universal Judgement_: This is a real warhorse. One of the few great band works of the 19th century. If a person likes the Verdi _Requiem_, they will love this. Only one recording that I know of and it is difficult to obtain: http://www.amazon.com/Orinet-Occident-Alfredo-Casella/dp/B00006BCEX/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1405802547&sr=1-3

I found an OK performance of it on You Tube with the UNC Band:






Richard Strauss: He composed several works for wind ensemble: The early _Serenade for Winds in E flat major, Op. 7_ and _Suite for 13 Winds in B flat major, Op. 4_; and the later _Sonatina no 1 in F major, AV 135 "Werkstatt eines Invaliden"_ and the _Sonatina no 2 in E flat major, AV 143 "Fröhliche Werkstatt"_. To call the last two works sonatinas is misleading. These are major works for wind ensembles that are over thirty minutes long. There are many fine recordings of these works.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

A late romantic composer, Carl Nielsen's woodwind quintet is a fine work, a staple of the literature, and I think a work you would enjoy.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Schumann's works for wind and piano...


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

My favorite composer for wind ensembles is Franz Danzi.


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## Conky (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks for the recommendations, everybody! I have a lot of listening to do now.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

If you enjoy the excellent suggestions here, you can then tip over in some of the most apporachable 20th Century stuff. I can recommend quintet works by Hindemith, Milhaud, Barber, Villa Lobos, Ligeti (the Bagatelles - fun!) and the Poulenc sextet for winds and piano


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