Album

The five works on this disc have three things in common. First, they're scored for the relatively unusual combination of wind quintet and piano. Second, they're played by the cracker-jack Reykjavik Wind Quintet and ace pianist Vovka Ashkenazy, son of the famous pianist-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. And third, they're all drop-dead hilarious. Try the last movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's quintet with its lopsided tunes and gawky rhythms, or the opening movement of Saint-Saëns' Caprice sur des airs danois et russes with its tongue-in-cheek melodies and waggish harmonies, or any of the three movements of Françaix's L'Heure du berger with its drunken glissandos and rude sforzandos, or even dour old Vincent d'Indy's Sarabande et Minuet: is that the sound of a smile one hears in the Sarabande and perhaps even a smirk in the Minuet? While certainly not for serious listening, this disc is so brilliantly played and so thoroughly entertaining that only the stoniest of faces and the hardest of hearts could resist it. With sound so real you can practically taste it, this disc is irresistible.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Francis Poulenc Composer Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano in C, FP100 Work 20:02 Vovka Ashkenazy Piano, Bernhardur Wilkinson Flute, Dadi Kolbeinsson Oboe, Joseph Ognibene Horn, Einar Johannesson Clarinet, Hafsteinn Guðmundsson Bassoon, Reykjavik Wind Quintet Ensemble
1	1.Allegro vivace	8:48			$1.49
2	2.Divertissement: Andantino	4:58			$0.99
3	3.Prestissimo	6:16			$0.99
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Composer Quintet in Bb, for flute, clarinet, french horn, bassoon, and piano Work 29:30 Vovka Ashkenazy Piano, Bernhardur Wilkinson Flute, Joseph Ognibene Horn, Einar Johannesson Clarinet, Hafsteinn Guðmundsson Bassoon, Reykjavik Wind Quintet Ensemble
4	1.Allegro con brio	8:20			$1.49
5	2.Andante	11:27			$1.99
6	3.Rondo: Allegretto	9:43			$1.49
Jean Françaix Composer L' heure du berger, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and piano Work 7:38 Vovka Ashkenazy Piano, Bernhardur Wilkinson Flute, Dadi Kolbeinsson Oboe, Joseph Ognibene Horn, Einar Johannesson Clarinet, Hafsteinn Guðmundsson Bassoon, Reykjavik Wind Quintet Ensemble
7	1.Les Vieux Beaux	2:08			$0.99
8	2.Pin-up Girls	2:16			$0.99
9	3.Les Petits Nerveux	3:14			$0.99
Camille Saint-Saëns Composer Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano, Op.79 Work Vovka Ashkenazy Piano, Bernhardur Wilkinson Flute, Dadi Kolbeinsson Oboe, Einar Johannesson Clarinet, Reykjavik Wind Quintet Ensemble
10	Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano, Op.79	12:20			$1.99
Vincent d'Indy Composer Sarabande et Minuet, Op.72 Work 8:02 Vovka Ashkenazy Piano, Bernhardur Wilkinson Flute, Dadi Kolbeinsson Oboe, Joseph Ognibene Horn, Einar Johannesson Clarinet, Hafsteinn Guðmundsson Bassoon, Reykjavik Wind Quintet Ensemble
11	1.Sarabande	4:02			$0.99
12	2.Menuet	4:00			$0.99