A beautifully precise unit

Sunday afternoon’s concert at City Hall was performed by the Duisberg Philharmonic Wind Quintet, a group consisting of five musicians playing flute, clarinet, oboe, French horn and bassoon.  They played a variety of music from the Classical and Romantic eras, some well-known and some new to many listeners.

The first half of the concert featured the less well-known pieces, quintets by the composers Franz Danzi, Mozart and Ibert.  The second half had music that most people will have heard, including excerpts from Mozart’s operas The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, Tchaikovsky’s ballet Nutcracker and Bizet’s opera Carmen.  It was so well-received by the audience that the quintet came back for two jazzy encores, Gershwin’s I got rhythm and Mancini’s ever-popular Pink Panther — the audience members couldn’t help but click their fingers to the music. 

The quality of the performers was second to none. 

The playing of each individual member was faultless and as a chamber group they complemented each other beautifully as a tight, precise unit. Every entry was exactly together, every cadence was in time and throughout they gave each other space to shine. 

Some people could say that it was a shame that there was no interaction between the performers and the audience — not a single word was spoken by the quintet, not even to say what pieces they were performing. 

Others may say that it was a refreshing change to just have the fantastic music speak for itself without the need for words.