Unknown Wind Quintets
„The woodwind quintet is probably the only instrumental combination in chamber music that can claim to have been invented twice. The colorful combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon was quite popular in 18th-century noble courts, probably due to its refreshing sonority reminiscent of serenade music: composers felt inspired to write a great number of works.
After the French Revolution and the corresponding decline of nobility, the wind quintet genre was only seldom featured in chamber music concerts held by the upper middle classes, and slowly sank into oblivion…….
Another welcome addition to repertoire can be found in Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon’s Frenglish Suite (1997), inspired and influenced by several British and French composers, as Dubugnon explains himself.…….
In the late 1800s, French flutist and composer Paul Taffanel devotedly started to create chamber music societies with the intention of reviving music of the past – an uncommon initiative in those times, and therefore much to his credit. ……..
British composer Gustav Holst’s Late Romantic Quintet in A Flat Major Op. 14 is not as well known, but sheds light on other aspects of this instrumental combination: en lieu of virtuosity, it features a great variety of harmonies and timbres, similarly to what Taffanel had sought in his slow movement.……..
Jean Françaix likewise possessed thorough knowledge of all five instruments and applied it specifically in his Quintet No. 1, with the goal of attaining a “high level of difficulty”, as he remarked himself.
Although Françaix wrote the piece in 1948, it was not until 1954 that five woodwind players of the Orchestre National in Paris drummed up the courage to perform the work in public after having reportedly “gone into confinement” for several months to practice it.……”
(aus dem Booklettext des Quintetts).
ANISSA BANIAHMAD Flute JOHANNA STIER Oboe NEMORINO SCHELIGA Clarinet MARC GRUBER Horn THEO PLATH Bassoon
The members of the Monet Quintett met one another early on, when they were still members of the
German National Youth Orchestra. It was not until 2014, however, that they founded their ensemble
while studying in several different German universities of music.
The Monet Quintett is a regular guest at renowned chamber music festivals including Heidelberg
Spring and Davos.
Apart from having won the 3rd prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition, the ensemble
was twice chosen for a scholarship by the German Music Competition and thereby admitted
into the German National Young Artist Concert Selection in 2016 and 2019.
All five musicians have become principles of prominent orchestras and award winners of national
and internationals competitions.
Flutist Anissa Baniahmad studied in Frankfurt, Paris, and Berlin. After contracts with Frankfurt
Opera and the Hamburg Symphony; she wwent on appearing as a guest of WDR RSO (Cologne) and
the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hannover. Since 2020 she is principal flutist at the Nationaltheater
Mannheim.
www.anissa-baniahmad.de
Oboist Johanna Stier was a member of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and has guested in orchestras
including Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
In 2019 she was named Principal Oboe of the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hannover.
Nemorino Scheliga studied under Norbert Kaiser in Stuttgart and was Principal Clarinetist of that
city’s opera orchestra until 2020. He is often invited to play the same position in the Dresden Staatskapelle
Dresden and Bavarian State Orchestra.
www.nemorino-scheliga.de
Theo Plath was appointed Principal Bassoon of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony in 2019; he often
guests as a soloist and chamber musician, much in demand at renowned festivals. Plath has won
a number of prizes – most recently 3rd Prize at the renowned ARD International Music Competition
in Munich.
www.theoplath.de
In 2016, hornist Marc Gruber won 2nd Prize and the Audience Prize at the renowned ARD International
Music Competition in Munich, followed by a great number of appearances as soloist at the
Berlin Philharmonie and many other outstanding venues. That same year, he was appointed principal
of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.
www.marcgruber.com
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