Complete Variations for Wind Quintet
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon
This unique piece lasting about 35 minutes was commissiond by and written for the Palatine Wind Quintet of Manchester in 1999 – 2000 by the Austrian composer Richard Weglehner (1923 – 2010). Following the first peformance at a concert for Amnesty International in Manchester in 2002 and subsequent performances there were some minor revisions in 2005.
In contrast with ensembles of the same or basically similar instruments, each of the instruments of the wind quintet has a distinctive character and tonal qualities, and each of the many (31) different combinations of instruments is capable of a distinctive tonal effect. It is fair to say that in most compositions for wind quintet this aspect is not made use of as much as it could be. The unique and unprecedented Complete Variations explores every possible combination. Thus between the initial statement and the finale there are thirty short (or very short) variations for one to four instruments. To complement this comprehensive structure there is at least one variation in each of the 24 major and minor keys.
Specially annotated parts and full score £20 including postage.
