Hans Abrahamsen: Works & Transcriptions for Wind Quintet

Featuring

Charlotte Norholt
Peter Kirstein
Tommaso Lonquich
Yavor Petkov
Neil Page
Peter Facer

Ensemble MidtVest
Hans Abrahamsen
Robert Schumann
Maurice Ravel

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Performer Biography

Ensemble MidtVest, the performers on this album, was founded in 2002 and performs over 80 concerts annually, including appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Composer Biography

Hans Abrahamsen, the composer of the works on this album, had his first music published at the age of 16.

Interpretation

Hans Abrahamsen made only one discrete change to Schumann's original Kinderszenen in the very last bar, adding a sustained oboe note to connect the final chords, similar to Wagner's practice in Tristan and Isolde.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Hans Abrahamsen describes himself as a 'composer of miniatures,' finding the wind quintet configuration well-suited for miniature movements.

Composer Biography

Hans Abrahamsen originally studied the French horn and played in a wind quintet, which made writing for this ensemble very natural for him.

Interpretation

In his transcription of Schumann's Kinderszenen, Hans Abrahamsen emphasizes the gentleness of the famous 'Träumerei' movement by omitting the oboe.

Composition History

After a ten-year break from composition, Hans Abrahamsen began working with transcriptions, like his 2005 arrangement of Schumann's Kinderszenen, as a way to analytically engage with music.