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Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Sonatina No.2 in E flat major 'Fröhliche Werkstatt' for 16 wind instruments TrV291 (1944-45) [40:52]
Serenade in E flat major for 13 wind instruments Trv106 (1881) [9:32]
Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble/George Vosburgh
rec. 2019 Kresge Theatre, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
REFERENCE RECORDINGS FR-745 [50:33]

The Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble is an extremely accomplished student group based at the University of the same name from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Their conductor and musical director is George Vosburgh who played principal trumpet in the Pittsburgh Symphony for many years and held similar posts in Chicago and for the World Orchestra for Peace. In recent years Reference Recordings have made a series of exceptionally fine recordings with the Pittsburgh orchestra and certainly in engineering terms this new disc continues that tradition.

These young players have little to fear from their more famous colleagues on various other recordings and the detailed engineering shows their technical playing to be skilled and sensitive. However, competition is extremely fierce and there are a couple of considerations for prospective purchasers. By including only the early Op.7 Serenade as the filler for the main work – the Sonatina No.2 “The Happy Workshop” the disc is pretty short measure – just 50:33 in total. For example in 2017 I reviewed an excellent BIS disc which included both the current works plus the considerable ‘bonus’ of the oboe concerto – all played by the exceptional winds of the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Oct/Strauss_oboe_BIS2163.htm]. If the interpretations were truly exceptional then that might be a lesser consideration however in the main work I find Vosburgh’s tempi – especially in the outer movements – to be a little stodgy. The first movement’s marking is after all Allegro con brio. Vosburgh plays the movement in 15:04 while the Concertgebouw are a fleet and nimble 12:34. Indeed the quicker tempo is the norm amongst recordings I have; Michael Collins of Hyperion and his London Winds are 13:03 while the Armonia Ensemble on Berlin Classics are a sprightly 11:18. It could be argued that the Armonia Ensemble is almost breathlessly brio but I do prefer the sheer energy and élan of their performance to the solidity of Vosburgh’s approach. The style of performance is a lot closer in the second movement Andantino but the American students cannot compete with either their Dutch or German counterparts in the skill of blending the instrumental groups together. The American clarinets in particular have a shrill edge to their tone that is quite different from the European ensembles.

The third movement Menuet is again noticeably slower with Strauss’ counterpoint less fluent and coherent on the new recording compared to the German players. This is not a question of technical accomplishment but simply being able to cohere the tricky writing into a linear and lyrical whole. The Concertgebouw players at a very similar basic tempo ‘flow’ better. The sprightlier Armonia ensemble are wonderfully alert and again very true to the spirit of the “Etwas lebhaft” tempo indication. In the closing Enleitung Vosburgh’s sombre and weighty introduction is greatly aided by the Reference engineering which allows the dark-toned bass clarinet and contrabassoon writing to register but the ensuing Allegro is again lacking in sparkle and good humour that surely Strauss intended. This is perfectly good playing and a wonderful opportunity and experience for these young players and one they should be rightly proud to have participated in. However by the measure of the other exceptional recordings they are simply not – yet – in the same league.

Much the same can be said of the brief Serenade Op.7 that completes the disc. However, I do rather like the absolute simplicity of the presentation of the opening theme on solo oboe in this new recording. For BIS this is played by superstar oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk who directs the performance too so it does rather become an oboe “feature”. Within the Carnegie Mellon Ensemble this is simply a solo taken within the overall group. Klaus Rainer Schöll directing the Bläser Ensemble Amadé on the Arts label take a similarly flowing approach but this group blend of the wind group is beautifully achieved in a very Germanic way. The actual sound the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble makes has that slight astringency that is more associated with wind bands rather than German “Harmoniemusik” groups. This is simply a matter of individual taste but personally I do feel the European blended sound works especially well in this repertoire.

This is wonderful music played with care and enthusiasm by these talented players. Several alternative recordings offer a more generous choice of repertoire in more idiomatic and refined performances. As such, this new disc cannot be considered competitive.

Nick Barnard

Previous review: Michael Cookson