Hailed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for playing which is “keenly balanced, sensitive, and brilliant in technical accomplishment”, the Center City Brass Quintet is renowned for setting new standards of artistry on brass instruments. The members of the quintet, regarded as five of the finest brass players of their generation, come from the ranks of the nation’s leading symphony orchestras and music school faculties, who convene regularly for chamber music making of the highest caliber.
The quintet takes its name from the famous downtown district of Philadelphia, in which it was founded in 1985 at the Curtis Institute of Music. Winners at the Coleman and Carmel chamber music competitions, the group has since been featured on numerous live television and radio broadcasts, including NPR’s Performance Today, and won wide acclaim for its concert tours throughout the U.S. and abroad. In 2001, the quintet was in residence at the inaugural Music Masters Course in Kazusa festival in Japan, where they performed in recital and taught brass students from around the world.
The members of the quintet are:
This release by the award-winning Center City Brass Quintet showcases the depth and variety of music by the German-born composer Kurt Weill, beginning with a suite of songs from his best-known Threepenny Opera. This is followed by a collection of cabaret and art songs composed in Europe, and concludes with songs composed in America for the Broadway stage in collaboration with the likes of Ira Gershwin and Moss Hart. Every song is in a brand new arrangement for brass quintet, written especially for this recording. Fans of the Center City Brass Quintet’s previous CD releases will enjoy the same rich sound, technical brilliance, and artistry they have come to expect from this fabulous ensemble which the American Record Guide has deemed “one of the strongest of today’s brass quintets”.
Personnel:
Anthony DiLorenzo (trumpet)
Geoffrey Hardcastle (trumpet)
Richard King (horn)
Craig Knox (tuba)
Steven Witser (trombone)
Tracklist:
01. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Overture 2.01
02. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Ballad of Mac the Knife) 2.01
03. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act I: Cannon Song) 2.19
04. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Ballad of Immoral Earnings 3.01
05. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act II: Finale: Second Threepenny Finale) 1.20
06. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act III: Solomon Song) 3.27
07. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act III: Call From The Grave) 3.14
08. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act III: Epitaph) 1.53
09. The Threepenny Opera Suite: Act III: Finale: Third Threepenny Finale) 2.31
10. Happy End: Act III: Surabaya Johnny 4.49
11. Mahagonny: Part I: Alabama-Song 3.13
12. Je ne t’aime pas 5.16
13. Mahagonny: Part II: Denn wie man sich bettet, so liegt man 4.27
14. One Touch of Venus: Speak Low (arr. for brass quintet) 4.07
15. Lost In The Stars 2.28
16. Lady In The Dark: Part I: My Ship 5.08
17. Lady In The Dark: Part II: One Life To Live 4.20
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