Czech Chamber Music Society • Czech Philharmonic Winds

The original Czech Philharmonic Harmony was founded within the Czech Philharmonic in 1967 by its prominent wind instrument players under the patronage of Chief Conductor Karel Ančerl. The basis of the ensemble was a classic octet (pairs of oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn), complemented by flutes or other instruments, mostly brass ones. The word “Harmony” designates an ensemble of mostly wind instruments established during the era of Classicism as an autonomous orchestra playing wind and brass repertoire, and is also figuratively used for a wind section of a symphony orchestra. Until 1995 when it ceased to exist, the Czech Philharmonic Harmony recorded many gramophone records and later compact discs for the Supraphon label, spanning music from the Baroque to the present day, including many premieres of contemporary Czech music. The discography of the Czech Philharmonic Harmony consists of the complete works for wind instruments by Ludwig van Beethoven, serenades and divertimenti by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, compositions by Leoš Janáček, František Vincenc Kramář-Krommer, Antonín Dvořák, Karel Janeček, Ivo Jirásek, Jiří Pauer, Jaroslav Rybář, etc. In 1972 the ensemble was awarded the Wiener Flötenuhr (Viennese Musical Clock) for its recording of Mozart’s serenades and divertimenti. The ensemble also gave concerts both in the Rudolfinum and elsewhere. It regularly performed at the International Prague Spring Festival as well as at the festivals in Salzburg and Lucerne.

This tradition is now followed by the ensemble Czech Philharmonic Winds, consisting exclusively of the players of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. It was established in the 2018/2019 season as part of the project of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra as its version for wind instruments.

Ondřej Vrabec is an extraordinary figure on the Czech music scene. After over two decades he continues to successfully advance his artistic career as an award-winning conductor, seasoned solo horn player at the Czech Philharmonic, sought-after chamber musician, respected teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and, newly, as Chiefconductor of the Carlsbad Symphony Orchestra.

He graduated from the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, supplementing his studies with numerous master classes. As a conductor, Ondřej Vrabec performs with many orchestras around the world (e.g. Japan Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Budapest Dohnányi Orchestra, Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra) as well as in the Czech Republic, including the Czech Philharmonic (chief conductor’s assistant from 2014 to 2017). For many years he was a member of an international team of conductors at the renowned festivals of contemporary music Ostrava Days and NODO.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy is one of the most prominent composers of the early 19th century, a period most often referred to in music history as early Romanticism. He created a wide variety of works in all genres, possessing in addition to other talents an exceptional musical gift that has been compared to that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Mendelssohn’s Overture for Wind Instruments, Op. 24, came to being in July 1824 for the court orchestra of Bad Doberan near Rostock, where the young composer accompanied his father. The original score entitled Nocturne got lost but was recopied by Mendelssohn in July 1826. The piece was scored for 11 instruments – one flute, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet and one English bass horn. In 1838 Mendelssohn substantially revised it and sent his publisher Simrock a new version called Ouverture für Harmoniemusik (Overture for Wind Orchestra) for 23 wind instruments and percussion, as well as an arrangement for piano four hands, but this work was not published until five years after Mendelssohn’s death in 1852.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is known as a Russian composer of the late Romantic period who because of his family tradition also had a career in the navy, spending three years of his life at sea. The list of his works consists mainly of operas and orchestral pieces, but also includes several instrumental concertos – Serenade for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 37, Mazurka and Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra, Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, Op. 30, and three concertos for wind instruments accompanied by a brass military band, namely clarinet, oboe and trombone. Korsakov composed music for military bands because in 1873 he became inspector of naval bands. He visited military naval bands all over Russia, among other things organizing concerts and writing original pieces for these bands or adapting works by other composers.

Concerto in B flat major for trombone and wind orchestra was composed in 1877 as Korsakov’s first ever solo concerto. The second and third movements include cadences in which the soloist demonstrates his skill. The opening trombone motif is characterized by the use of a staggered major triad followed by a chromatic melodic progression. It seems that almost 20 years later it inspired Richard Strauss for the opening horn motif in his symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Aaron Copland, born in Brooklyn, New York, is considered one of the central figures of 20th-century American classical music together with Gershwin, Ives, Bernstein and the Minimalists. His concert, incidental and film music refers to Neoclassicism with strong jazz overtones. Copland wrote music in a deliberately accessible style liked by the general public, as reflected in his ballet Appalachian Spring premiered in 1944. “It is simple, easy to sing, relatively uncomplicated and slightly folksy. Direct and accessible,” Copland himself described the music of this ballet.

Appalachian Spring was created in collaboration with choreographer Martha Graham who in the 1930s began commissioning scores from various composers. Thematically, these new works often involved American history and culture. The ballet with music by Copland is based on a poem by Hart Crane. It takes place in a small 19th-century Pennsylvania settlement in Appalachian Mountains and features the Shakers, a Christian sect active at the time that believed in Christ’s second revelation. Soon after its premiere in 1945 the ballet earned Copland the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. It was originally scored for a chamber orchestra consisting of 13 instruments; Copland later arranged it into an orchestral suite. Tonight we will hear selected parts from the orchestral suite arranged for wind ensemble in 2015 by the renowned American arranger Robert Longfield. The selection includes a movement with the well-known Shaker tune Simple Gifts.

The last work to be heard tonight is by the British composer Andrew Downes, who died two years ago on 2 January 2025. He taught for many years at Birmingham Conservatoire and his oeuvre spans all genres of classical music. Downes is particularly well known to music audiences for his pieces for wind or brass ensembles, especially those with French horn. He had a significant connection with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. His Concerto for 4 French Horns and Orchestra was commissioned by the Czech Philharmonic which premiered it in 2002. The Czech Philharmonic has also performed or recorded his other works, for example, it released a CD with his symphonies under the direction of the conductor of tonight’s concert, Ondřej Vrabec.

Downes wrote a total of five symphonies, each for a different cast. Symphony No. 4 is scored for a wind orchestra. This work was commissioned by Dr. Janice Lee Sperling for the Albuquerque Concert Band, following the premiere of Downes’ Sonata for 8 Horns at the University of New Mexico in 1995. Symphony No. 4 is in five movements which have been inspired by New Mexico, through which the composer traveled to perform the sonata. Harmonically and melodically the style of the music begins to resemble a film score. Its third movement “Sky City” takes its inspiration from the ancient Pueblo city in the New Mexico desert, and includes a solo part for Native American cedar wood flute.