An Unusual Concert

From the outset, a table with five chairs, glasses, and a bottle of Spanish red wine at one side of the stage indicated that the performance by Maria González Bullón (oboe), Maria Losada Burgo (bassoon), Maria Luisa Olmos Ros (clarinet), Eric Steven Rojas Toapanta (bass clarinet), and Ovidi Marti Garasa (saxophone) would differ from a typical chamber music concert. Much like the ever-changing music, which ranged from melancholic to passionate and full of life, the formation of the quintet remained dynamic. New duos and trios were constantly formed as the bass clarinet and bassoon laid a tonal foundation for the melodic excursions of the higher-pitched instruments.

Dianto Reed Quintet took the audience on a journey through various compositional epochs and regions of their homeland, alternating between playful and humorous moments and those of melancholic depth. To start the concert, the ensemble engaged with French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau in a dynamic collaboration, performing the Prélude, Allemande, and Gavotte from the originally harpsichord-composed seven-part suite La Triomphante in an arrangement for wind quintet by Raaf Hekkema, offering festive, dance-like, and triumphant musical elements. The entire concert remained rich in contrasts, with Isaac Albéniz’s Spanish Suite op. 47 covering a particularly wide spectrum with its diverse tonal colours.

Playful Melodies with High Tempo

The quintet sonically portrayed the northwest of Spain with Asturias, shifted with a strong clarinet to the bright, sunny Granada, and concluded their musical tour with rhythmic, playful melodies and high tempo in central Spain’s Castilla.

The sip of red wine poured by Maria Losada Burgo in the second part of the programme and enjoyed by the ensemble only during the final applause was well-deserved, with her expressive bassoon playing and the emotive sound of her voice bringing a touch of transcendence to the hall of the Hans-Freudenberg School during Negra sombra by Xoan Montes Capón.