Lunchtime Concert Series - Sinfonia Smith Square Alumni Quintet
Sinfonia Smith SquareSmith Square, Westminster
Mon 19 Oct · 13:05
About this event
This programme celebrates the remarkable versatility of the wind quintet, exploring music that spans centuries, cultures and contrasting musical landscapes. Samuel Barber’s Summer Music, written in 1956, is one of the most celebrated works in the wind-quintet repertoire. Its single movement moves between relaxed, lyrical passages and more energetic episodes, capturing the warmth, languor and changing moods associated with summer. Edino Krieger’s Serenata a Cinco brings a different character to the programme. Drawing on the tradition of the serenade, the work combines rhythmic vitality with lyrical writing, showcasing the individual colours of the five instruments while maintaining the spirit of an intimate musical conversation. Jennifer Higdon’s Autumn Music provides a natural companion to Barber’s summer landscape. Written in 1995, the piece evokes the colours, textures and changing atmosphere of autumn, moving between brightness and introspection as the season gradually unfolds. Valerie Coleman’s Red Clay and Mississippi Delta concludes the programme with a vivid and distinctly American sound world. Inspired by Coleman’s family heritage and the musical traditions of the American South, the work draws on blues and jazz influences, combining infectious rhythms with expressive melodies. Together, these four works demonstrate the extraordinary range of colour, character and expression that can be achieved by just five wind instruments.
