Sounds of St. Petersburg

Featuring

Stockholm Chamber Brass
Victor Evald

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Performer Biography

Stockholm Chamber Brass, formed from the Fracasso Brass Quintet in 1985, won first prize at the International Festival of Chamber Music in Narbonne, France, in 1988.

Composer Biography

Victor Evald, the composer on this album, was an amateur musician who played cello in Mitrofan Belyayev's string quartet and was also a fine hornist.

Historical Context

Towards the end of the 19th century, two major collections of chamber music, known as Les Vendredis or Pyatnitsy ('The Fridays'), appeared in Russia.

Composition History

In 1893, Victor Evald was awarded a prize in a chamber music composition competition, with Rimsky-Korsakov serving as a jury member.

Historical Context

Victor Evald's music reminds us that interesting chamber music for brass existed in earlier periods, challenging the common belief that the modern brass quintet was born in the 1950s.

Composition History

The 'Fridays' referred to soirées held every Friday at the home of wood magnate Mitrofan Belyayev, where outstanding musicians performed and often brought newly-composed pieces.

Compositional Technique

The work with which Victor Evald won his prize was a string quartet that later appeared as Brass Quintet No.4, and it is possible Evald himself arranged his brass quintets.