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The Windtalkers
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Orsolino's concert can be best described as the musical lightness of being
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Musicians of Orsolino Quintet group — Photo: Mohd. Yousuf
AT THE inaugural event to mark the launch of the German Centre in Hyderabad, what Orsolino the young German - Austrian Woodwind Ensemble seemed intent on proving was anything their instrumental relatives can do, they can do as well, or better. No texture, speed, tonal, colour or dynamic seemed to be beyond the means of Walter Auer on the flute, Anne Angerer on the oboe, Joschen Tschabrun on the clarinet, Jan Wessely on the horn and Marion Reinhard on the bassoon.
Though this quintet has come into its own since 1996, literature for woodwind ensembles remain scarce. To fill the void, enterprising quintets have two options: commission new works or steal old ones. As for the latter, transcriptions have been the quintet's forte for years, but it is often the case that much is lost in the translation. As for the former, new works hold promise, but they can be artistically unambitious, and relatively few top-notch modern-day composers have given the woodwind quintet serious consideration.
On Tuesday at the ITC Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton and Towers, the Orsolino Quintet successfully navigated both pitfalls. Relying on transcriptions and newly composed works to fill their two-hour concert, the selections seemed perfectly fitted to the Germans' agile, transparent sonic universe.
It was remarkable just how far the wind could stretch. Who would have thought that Antonin Reicha's Menuetto allegro vivo had any business in the Hyder Mahal that particular evening? The athletic, ad-libbed flourishes and arpeggios were obviously intended for a fleet-fingered ensemble. Orsolino performed the work flawlessly. They sustained wispy pianissimos as easily as deafening fortissimos and tossed off trills with awesome nonchalance in their opening piece, Mozart's Overture to `Cosd' fan tutte. They had an astonishing variety of tonal attacks and negotiated melodic passages of a convoluted rapidity in Ligeti's Moto vivace.
A spectacular demonstration of ensemble virtuosity, found Orsolino's brilliant players taking the lead in separate pieces matched by extraordinary sonics — crystalline definition, airy spaciousness, superb presence and an overall clarity that was positively breathtaking.
Such was the case with the concert's new work, Luciano Berio's Opus Number Zoo that had an accompanying text which the players recited as they performed with much fanfare and expression. The four-movement work was the highpoint of the concert. Those who attended the performance found many rewards that winter night despite clapping at all the wrong times.
DEEPA ALEXANDER
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