On this recording, the Belfiato Quintet perform three quintets by Antonín Rejcha.
When he was 10, Anton Rejcha ran away from his Prague home, and lived in turn in Bonn, Hamburg and Vienna, before finally settling in Paris. He presented his first symphony at the tender age of 17.
Rejcha became a friend of Beethoven’s, who played the viola in the same orchestra, he made the acquaintance with Haydn, and his teachers included Salieri.
Rejcha’s students included Liszt, Berlioz, Franck and other distinguished composers. He was the first to write truly masterful wind quintets, making full use of the instruments’ character and technical potential.
Notwithstanding its being challenging to perform, his music comes across as bright, airy and gracious. The Belfiato Quintet selected three – the most beautiful and most engrossing – of Rejcha’s 24 wind quintets, which they have recorded at the acoustically exceptionable Rudolfinum hall in Prague. It would seem that the virtuoso and passionate musicians have found in Rejcha a kindred spirit. It’s one hell of a ride…
Here are the Quintet Opus 88 number 2 by Anton Rejcha:
