Hans Winterberg

Suite for Wind Quintet

Hans Winterberg (1901-1991) composed his first work for the classical formation of the wind quintet (with secondary instruments) at the beginning of 1946 in Prague. After a Suite for trumpet and piano composed at the end of 1945, this was his second work written after the liberation from the Theresienstadt concentration camp in June 1945. This musical, exuberant piece shows no sign of what its author had gone through in the previous five years. The character is light, airy and free from the darkness of the works composed during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and some further pieces written after the emigration to Germany in 1947. The movements are magnificent and full of ideas and rhythmic figures that develop into ostinato foundations in the tradition of Janá?ek. The ingenuity and variety of mood changes that accompany each unpredictable change of meter are masterful. The Suite was only recently rediscovered in the composer's estate and is still awaiting its premiere at the time of the release of this publication.