A wind quintet , also known as a woodwind quintet , is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute , oboe , clarinet , French horn and bassoon ).
The Prague Wind Quintet, c. 1931 Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the instruments in a wind quintet differ from each other considerably in technique, idiom, and timbre . The modern wind quintet sprang from the octet ensemble favored in the court of Joseph II in late 18th century Vienna : two oboes, two clarinets, two (natural) horns , and two bassoons.[1] Haydn 's chamber writing suggested similar possibilities for winds, and advances in the building of these instruments in that period made them more useful in small ensemble settings, leading composers to attempt smaller combinations.
It was Anton Reicha 's twenty-four quintets, begun in 1811, and the nine quintets of Franz Danzi that established the genre, and their pieces are still standards of the repertoire. Though the form fell out of favor in the latter half of the 19th century, there has been renewed interest in the form by leading composers in the 20th century, and today the wind quintet is a standard chamber ensemble, valued for its versatility and variety of tone color.
Nineteenth century
Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736–1809), a quintet for two oboes , clarinet , natural horn , and bassoon Giuseppe Cambini (1746–1825), three quintetsFranz Danzi (1763–1826), nine quintetsJohann Georg Lickl (1769–1843), one quintetAnton Reicha (1770–1836), twenty-four quintets, as well as some independent movementsGeorge Onslow (1784–1853), one quintet, op. 81Giulio Briccialdi (1818–1881), three quintetsPaul Taffanel (1844–1908), one quintetAugust Klughardt (1847–1902), one quintetTwentieth century
Guy Ropartz (1864–1955), one quintetCarl Nielsen (1865–1931), one quintetGustav Holst (1874–1934), one quintetHeinrich Kaspar Schmid (1874-1953), one quintetArnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), one quintetTheodor Blumer (1881–1964), four quintetsPercy Grainger (1882–1961), two quintetsWallingford Riegger (1885–1961), one quintetHeitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), one quintetJacques Ibert (1890–1962), one quintetHendrik Andriessen (1892–1981), one quintetDarius Milhaud (1892–1974), one quintetWalter Piston (1894–1976), one quintetPaul Hindemith (1895–1963), one quintetRoberto Gerhard (1896–1970), one quintetCarlos Chávez (1899–1978), one quintetErnst Krenek (1900–1991), two quintetsRuth Crawford-Seeger (1901–1953), one quintetClaude Arrieu (1903–1990), one quintetFerenc Farkas (1905–2000), one quintetMátyás Seiber (1905–1960), one quintetJaroslav Ježek (1906–1942), one quintetAlec Wilder (1907–1980), twelve quintetsOtto Mortensen (1907–1986), one quintetGyörgy Ránki (1907–1992), one quintetElliott Carter (1908–2012), two quintetsVagn Holmboe (1909–1996), one quintetLjubica Maric (1909–2003), one quintetSamuel Barber (1910–1981), one quintetJosef Tal (1910–2008), one quintetJean Françaix (1912–1997), two quintetsIngolf Dahl (1912–1970), one quintetAlvin Etler (1913–1973), two quintets, a concerto for quintet and orchestra, and a concerto for violin and wind quintetVivian Fine (1913–2000), one quintetIrving Fine (1914–1962), two quintetsGeorge Perle (1915–2009), four quintetsVincent Persichetti (1915–1987), two quintetsDinu Lipatti (1917–1950), one quintet and six transcriptions of Scarlatti sonatas for wind quintetPeter Racine Fricker (1920–1990), one quintetWitold Silewicz (1921–2007), at least one quintet, esp. Happy Birthday to You .Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006), two quintetsHarry Freedman (1922–2005), three quintets, one with narratorGyörgy Ligeti (1923–2006), two quintetsMilko Kelemen (born 1924), one quintetJurriaan Andriessen (1925–1996), one quintetLuciano Berio (1925–2003), four quintetsWłodzimierz Kotoński (1925–2014), one quintetBarney Childs (1926–2000), one quintetHans Werner Henze (1926–2012), one quintetLee Hoiby (1926–2011), one quintetGottfried Michael Koenig (born 1926), one quintetFranco Donatoni (1927–2000), one quintetWayne Peterson (1927–2021), one quintet and five transcriptions of other composers' worksJean-Michel Damase (1928–2013), one quintetFrigyes Hidas (1928–2007), three quintetsKarlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), three quintetsDonald Martino (1931–2005), one quintetPer Nørgård (born 1932), one quintetRamiro Cortés (1933–1984), one quintetIstván Láng (1933–2023), three quintetsHarrison Birtwistle (1934–2022), two quintetsRob du Bois (1934–2013), two quintetsPeter Schat (1935–2003), one quintetDavid Del Tredici (born 1937), one quintetCharles Wuorinen (born 1938), one quintetFrank Zappa (1940–1993), two quintetsFriedrich Goldmann (1941–2009), one quintet, and a sonata for wind quintet with pianoMichael Kibbe (born 1945) 15 quintets, 3 quintet and Piano, 1 quintet and celloMartin Bresnick (born 1946), one quintetRichard St. Clair (born 1946), one quintetJack Gallagher (born 1947), one quintetStephen Brown (born 1948), one quintetRobert Beaser (born 1954), one quintetEric Ewazen (born 1954), one quintet plus one concerto for quintet with orchestra or pianoDavid A. Jaffe (born 1955), one quintetLuca Francesconi (born 1956), two quintetsKenneth Fuchs (born 1956), two quintetsOleksandr Shchetynsky (born 1960), one quintetWilliam Susman (born 1960), one quintetKarlheinz Essl (born 1960), one quintetLudmila Yurina (born 1962), one quintetJuan María Solare (born 1966), four quintetsPeter Fribbins (born 1969), one quintet[2] Lior Navok (born 1971), one quintet, and a double quintet that would belong in the 21st-century listTwenty-first century
Yoav Talmi (born 1943), one quintetJohn Zorn (born 1953) one quintetMichael Gilbertson (born 1987) concerto for quintet with orchestralNigel Keay (born 1955), one quintetShigeru Kan-no (born 1959), no quintets, but there is one work combining wind and brass quintets with brass orchestraAnanda Sukarlan (born 1968) piece for piano & wind quintetJames Francis Brown (born 1969), one quintet[3] Robert Paterson (born 1970), one quintetEmily Doolittle (born 1972), one quintet, and one work for narrator and quintetMohammed Fairouz (born 1985), one quintetAlex Weiser (born 1989), one quintetCris Derksen , one quintetValerie Coleman Sean Friar , one quintetYalil Guerra , (born 1973, Cuba), one quintet titled "Las Musas de San Alejandro"Shai Cohen (born 1968), "STYX V+1" For wind quintet and vibraphone
Andriessen, Jurriaan , Sciarada Spagnuola [Spanish Charade] (1963)Arnold, Malcolm , Three Shanties , op. 4 (1943)Bach, Jan , Skizzen, Highgate Press [Sketches, Highgate Press] (1983)Barber, Samuel , Summer Music Baur, Jürg , Quintetto sereno [Serene Quintet] (1957–58)Beaser, Robert , Shadow and Light (1981)Bennett, Richard R. , Concerto for Woodwind QuintetBerio, Luciano
Ricorrenze (1987)Wind Quintet (1948)
Wind Quintet (1950)
Opus Number Zoo (arr. 1951 for wind quintet, from the 1950 original for 2 clarinets and 2 horns)Birtwistle, Harrison
Refrains and Choruses (1957)Five Distances (1992)Bloch, Waldemar , Serenade (1966)Blumer, Theodor , Serenade, Theme and Variations Bobescu, Constantin, Parafrază pe motivul "Horei Staccato" (1958)
Bois, Rob du
Chants et contrepoints (1962)Réflexions sur le jour où Pérotin le Grand ressuscitera (1969)Bottje, Will Gay , Diversions , for quintet, narrator and piano; text by James Thurber (1994)Bozza, Eugene
Variations sur un thème libre , op. 42 (1943)Scherzo , op. 48 (1944)Pentaphonie (1969)Quand les muses collaborent Bresnick, Martin
Just Time (1985)Willie's Way (2006, quintet arrangement by Richard Mathias 2011)Brown, Stephen , Suite for Woodwinds, (1982, revised 2006)Buss, Howard J. , Five Stars (2004)Cambini, Giuseppe Maria , Trois quintetti concertans [Three Concertante Quintets] (ca. 1802)
Quintet no. 1 in B-flat major
Quintet no. 2 in D minor
Quintet no. 3 in F major Carter, Elliott
Nine by Five (2009)Quintet (1948) Chávez, Carlos , Soli no. 2 (1961)Cortés, Ramiro , Three Movements for Five Winds (1967–68)Dahl, Ingolf , Allegro and Arioso Damase , 17 Variations op. 22, (1951)Danzi, Franz , 9 Quintets:
op. 56, no. 1 in B-flat major
op. 56, no. 2 in G minor
op. 56, no. 3 in F major
op. 67, no. 1 in G major
op. 67, no. 2 in E minor
op. 67, no. 3 in E-flat major
op. 68, no. 1 in A minor
op. 68, no. 2 in F major
op. 68, no. 3 in D minor Del Tredici, David , Belgian Bliss (2011)Franco Donatoni Blow (1989)Dubois, Pierre Max , Fantasia (1956)Etler, Alvin
Concerto for Violin and Wind Quintet (1958)
Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra (1960)
Quintet no. 1 (1955)
Quintet no. 2 (1957) Farkas, Ferenc
Régi magyar táncok a XVII. századból (aka Antiche danze ungheresi del 17. secolo ) [Old Hungarian Dances from the 17th century] (1959)Lavottiana (1968)Fine, Irving
Partita (1948)Romanza (1958)Fine, Vivian , Dancing Winds Françaix, Jean
Quintette à vent [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1948)Quintette à vent [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1987)Friar, Sean
Short Winds , for wind quintet (2010)Gallagher, Jack , Ancient Evenings and Distant Music (1971)Genzmer, Harald
Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1957)Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1970)Goeb, Roger
Prairie Songs (1947)Wind Quintet No. 1 (1949)
Wind Quintet No. 2 (1955)
Wind Quintet No. 3 (1980)
Wind Quintet No. 4 (1982) Goldmann, Friedrich
Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet] (1991)
Sing' Lessing , for baritone, wind quintet, and piano (1978)Sonata for Wind Quintet and Piano (1969)
Zusammenstellung , for wind quintet (1976)Hall, Pauline
Suite for Wind Quintet (1948)
Quintet, Lyche (1952) Harbison, John , Wind Quintet (1979)Heiden, Bernhard
Intrada in B-flat major op. 56, for Quintet and alto saxophone (1970)Sinfonia (1949)Woodwind Quintet (1965) Hidas, Frigyes
Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1969)
Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 3 (1979) Hindemith, Paul , Kleine Kammermusik Hoiby, Lee , Diversions for Wind Quintet (1999)Holst, Gustav , Wind Quintet in A flat, op. 14 (1903)Ibert, Jacques , Trois Pièces Brèves [Three Short Pieces]Jacob, Gordon
Suite for Wind Quintet, unpublished
Sextet for piano and wind quintet (1956) Kelemen, Milko
Études contrapuntiques [Contrapuntal Etudes] (1959)Entrances for wind quintet (1966)Klughardt, August , Quintet op. 79Koenig, Gottfried Michael , Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet], for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon (1958–59)Kotoński, Włodzimierz , Kwintet na instrumenty dęte [Wind Quintet] (1964)Kurtág, György , Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet], op. 2 (1959)Láng, István
Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 1 (1964)
Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 2 (1965)
Fúvósötös [Wind Quintet] no. 3 (1975) Ligeti, György
Maslanka, David
Quintet for Winds No. 1
Quintet for Winds No. 2
Quintet for Winds No. 3
Quintet for Winds No. 4 Marić, Ljubica , Duvački kvintet [Wind Quintet] (1931)Mathias, William , Wind Quintet, op. 22 (1963)Milhaud, Darius , La Cheminée du roi René Mortensen, Otto , Quintette pour Flûte, Hautbois, Clarinette, Cor et Basson (1944)Navok, Lior
Six Short Stories for Woodwind Quintet
The Adventures of Pinocchio (for three actors / speakers, wind quintet and piano)
Tetris – for double wind quintet Nielsen, Carl , Wind Quintet (1922)Nørgård, Per , Whirl's World (1970)Oteri, Frank J. , circles mostly in wood , a wind quintet in quartertones (2002)Paterson, Robert , Wind Quintet (2004)Patterson, Paul
Comedy for Five Winds (1972)Westerly Winds (1998)Perle, George
For Piano and Wind , for flute, English horn, clarinet, horn, bassoon, and piano (1988)Wind Quintet no. 1 (1959)
Wind Quintet no. 2 (1960)
Wind Quintet no. 3 (1967)
Wind Quintet no. 4 (1984), winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Music Persichetti, Vincent
Pastoral , op.21 (1943)King Lear , op.35, for wind quintet, timpani, and piano (1948)Peterson, Wayne , Metamorphosis (1967)Piazzolla, Astor , Milonga sin palabras [Milonga without words]Pierné, Paul , Suite pittoresque [Picturesque Suite]Pilss, Carl , Serenade in G MajorPiston, Walter , Wind Quintet (1956)Poulenc , Sextet, for wind quintet and piano (1932–39)Ránki, György , Pentaerophonia Reicha, Anton
Twenty-four Wind Quintets, Opp. 88, 91, 99, and 100 (1810–20) Riegger, Wallingford , Concerto, op. 53, for wind quintet and piano (1956)Rosowsky, Solomon
"Moshe der Shuster" (Moshe the Cobbler) (1917)
"Nigun ohne a Sof" (Melody without an End) (1917) Schat, Peter , Improvisations and Symphonies , op. 11 (1960)Schoenberg, Arnold , Bläserquintett [Wind Quintet], op. 26 (1923–24)Schulze, Werner, Explosioni
Seiber, Mátyás , Permutazioni a Cinque for wind quintet (1958)Solare, Juan María
Extraños preludios y doble canon (Strange preludes and double canon) (1992)Nómade (adaptation of the piece originally for piano solo) (2002–2006)Ölflecke auf dem Wasser (Oil spots on the water) (2003)Born equal (2011)Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Sukarlan, Ananda , "Mozart Meandering through Java before Bumping into Beethoven in Boston" for piano & wind quintet, written for the winds of Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also wrote 5 individual pieces for each wind instrument with piano, based on Ovid's "Metamorphosis", written for those members of BSOSusman, William , Six Minutes Thirty Seconds (1995)Taffanel, Paul , Quintet for Wind InstrumentsTal, Josef , Wind Quintet (1966)Thuille, Ludwig , Sextet for Wind Instruments and PianoTomasi, Henri , Cinq Danses [Five Dances]Villa-Lobos, Heitor , Quinteto (em forma de chôros) Weiser, Alex , Wind (2013)Wuorinen, Charles , Wind Quintet (1977)Yurina, Ludmila , Geometricum (1993)
Barrenechea, Sérgio Azra. 2004. "O Quinteto de Sopros" (Dica Técnica 81) Parts 1 and 2. Revista Weril 150 and 151.
Brandt, Andrew (July 17, 2000). "Brandt's Woodwind Quintet List" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2014. Hošek, Miroslav. 1979. Das Bläserquintett . Grünwald: B. Brüchle. ISBN 3-921847-01-X .
Kohl, Jerome . 2017. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Zeitmaße . Landmarks in Music Since 1950, edited by Wyndham Thomas. Abingdon, Oxon; London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7546-5334-9 .Leyden, Megan C. 2000. "The Story of the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet". DMA thesis. Seattle: University of Washington.
Moeck, Karen. 1977. "The Beginnings of the Woodwind Quintet." NACWPI Journal 26, no. 2 (November): 22–33.
Secrist-Schmedes, Barbera. 2002. Wind Chamber Music for Two to Sixteen Winds: An Annotated Guide . Lanham, Maryland.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4246-5 . 
