Regional Spotlight: Dorian Wind Quintet plays Reicha

St. Paul, Minn. — He was a life-long pal of Beethoven's and hung out with Haydn, but flutist Anton Reicha didn't think either of them knew a thing about writing for wind instruments.

"There's a dearth of any good music at all for wind instruments," he complained, "simply because composers know little of their technique."

Reicha may have been a bit of a whiner, but he was also a man of action and he single-handedly created a new ensemble.

As Haydn was the father of the string quartet, Reicha begat the woodwind quintet.

Today we shine the spotlight on a Music in the Parks concert from 2009 given by the Dorian Quintet of Anton Reicha's Wind Quintet in E-flat.

Guests

• Doran Wind Quintet: Since its formation at Tanglewood in 1961, the Dorian Wind Quintet has performed repertoire ranging from the Baroque to Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions in the world's most renowned concert halls. The Quintet has concertized in 49 of the 50 states and Canada, toured Europe eighteen times, and played throughout the Middle East, India, Africa and Asia. The Dorian made history as the first wind quintet to appear at Carnegie Hall in 1981 and serves as the resident ensemble for the Mannes College of Music, Brooklyn College and the State University of New York System. The current members are Gretchen Pusch, flute; Gerard Reuter, oboe; Jerry Kirkbride, clarinet; John Hunt, bassoon; and Karl Kramer-Johansen, horn.