Nearly 40 years separate Jean Françaix's two Quintets for wind instruments. The earlier of the two dates from 1948, when Louis Courtinat, French horn player with the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, asked Françaix for a quintet for his colleagues. As the composer later related, the work was to be "very demanding, permitting the five players to display their virtuosity to the fullest!" Françaix continued, "Even though I am, by nature, a peaceable sort of person, I did my best to be nasty. And I seem to have succeeded, for these gentlemen had to closet themselves for six months in order to get through it." The Quintet proved to be a hit, "achieving a success beyond my wildest dreams."

The first movement opens with a laid-back, not-quite-serious slow introduction. When the music speeds to Allegro assai, it is with a light-hearted tune suggestive of the music hall, surrounded by decorative arpeggios. The genial Presto second movement acts as a scherzo, and the slow third movement is a set of variations on a lyrical melody. The final movement is marked Tempo di Marcia Francese; the jolly march melody leads into a contrapuntal central section. Françaix concludes the work with a quiet and humorous coda.

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