A highly entertaining, short, and completely different concert, both classical and eclectic: Dianto Reed Quintet. There are five graduates from renowned Spanish music conservatories and master graduates at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, founded Dianto, which means Carnation in Esperanto. The name alludes to the woodwind instruments they play, such as oboe, bassoon, clarinets – with the reed producing the sound – and a saxophone.

They reinterpret traditional Spanish music with an extremely modern-sounding ensemble, drawing out vibrant, entirely new facets. They have won several Dutch awards and are at the beginning of an international career. Schloss Leitheim marks their second performance in Germany.

Their impact: They came, played, and convinced grandiosely. Ovations from the audience greeted a highly virtuosic and thrilling performance, albeit a much too short one. Staged delightfully as if in a bodega, they presented table music with works by the famous “trio” of Spanish composers from the 19th and 20th centuries: Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz, and Enrique Granados, among other grand works.

Three young ladies dressed in forest green appeared with oboe (María González Bullón), bassoon (María Losada Burgo), and clarinet (Maria Luisa Olmos Ros), accompanied by two young men with soprano and alto saxophone (Ovidi Martí Garasa and Erik Steven Rojas Toapanta), and the bass clarinet. Almost abruptly, Erik Steven Rojas Toapanta’s bass clarinet enters – its sonorous, almost mystical sound commands intense listening, dissolving into Spanish folklore.

Dutch composer Primo Ish-Hurwitz, born in 2001, wrote “3 Preludes to El Amor Brujo” for the ensemble’s prizewinner concerts. The first movement showcases how the ensemble understands their music – grouped in trios and duets in tension-filled changing combinations of bass clarinet/oboe, saxophone/clarinet/bassoon, light against dark moments, pausing to listen to each other, allowing space for brilliant solos.

Albéniz’s homage “Suite española” op. 47, dedicated to Spain’s most beautiful regions: they paint Asturias, Granada, Sevilla, Castilla with such light, delicate colors that each part sparkles with the grandeur of their homeland. The scent of Arabia is stronger in “Oriental” from Granados’ “Doce danzas españolas,” again inspired by the melodic and rhythmic power of Spanish music. The smooth, flowing movements of the musicians, playing from memory, have a hypnotic effect. They are only occasionally interrupted by the audience’s hymn-like approval or skillfully chiseled mini-pauses.

A rousing Fandango from the Zarzuela “Doña Francisquita” (Amadeo Vives) follows the second movement of the “Three Preludes”: María Losada Burgo performs the Catalan “El Cant del Ocells,” Pau Casals’ hymn of peace, with a rough touch.

Exciting new soundscapes emerge without alienating traditional listening habits. De Falla’s “Danza española” from his opera “La vida breve,” inspired and enthusiastically played. Andalusian folklore in his ballet music “El amor brujo” (Love, the Magician) makes the “Preludes” understandable. Melancholic magic with “Negra sombra,” Xoán Montes Capón’s most famous song – and “Jesus dulcis memoria” by the most famous composer of the Middle Ages, Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Pure enthusiasm! And: Until we meet again!