Music and Dance Reviews : Chicago Pro Musica on Coleman Concerts

As former and current members of the vaunted Chicago Symphony, one would expect the personnel of Chicago Pro Musica (woodwind quintet division) to be lacking not a whit in matters of technique, intonation and ensemble. That proved to be the case Sunday afternoon at Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena, leaving only--the music.

In fact, the five men (Richard Graef, flute; John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; Grover Schiltz, oboe; Daniel Gingrich, horn, and Willard Elliott, bassoon) are all so gifted that to single out any individual accomplishments in the performance is superfluous.

The Quintet, Opus 43, of Carl Nielsen benefited most from the group’s artistic commitment. Yeh’s fluid technique and liquid tone set the standard in the second movement Minuet, while his colleagues each had their moments in the spotlight in the finale.

Similarly, Hindemith’s “Kleine Kammermusik,” Opus 24, No. 2, and Carter’s Quintet (1948) had their myriad qualities, from quirky to sublime, illuminated by the Chicagoans.

Brief works by Carter (again), Ibert and Villa-Lobos rounded out a program in which the Coleman Concerts audience gained not only insights into the varied 20th-Century repertory for woodwind quintet, but also an important clue as to the hidden virtuosity that is an integral ingredient in the making of a great orchestra.