R. STRAUSS

Complete Works for Wind Ensemble

CD1:

Sonatina No. 1 in F for 16 Wind Instruments

‘Aus der Werkstatt eines Invaliden’

Suite in B flat, Op. 4

CD2:

Serenade in E flat, Op. 7

Symphony in E flat for Wind Instruments Op post.,

‘Fröhliche Werkstatt’

Academy Symphonic Wind / Keith Bragg

Academy SymphonicWind was formed in January 2002 to perform significant and established wind ensemble repertoire as well as new works and arrangements. The ensemble regularly perform at the Academy’s home in central London as well as further afield. Their first recording, of Mozart’s Gran Partita Serenade, Beethoven’s own arrangement of his Seventh Symphony and Strauss’s Fröhliche Werkstatt, was released in 2003 to considerable acclaim:

“the standard is, as we have come to expect, extraordinarily high” Evening Standard January 2004 “can be enjoyed on a level equal to that of many a seasoned professional ensemble... the playing is so skilful, carried off with lightness and with a richness of ensemble. A recording as recommendable for its choice of repertoire as for its fine playing.’ Sunday Telegraph January 2004 Woodwind players who have graduated from the Academy in recent years now play with the Berlin Philharmonic, BBC orchestras, City of Birmingham Symphony, English National Opera, Gothenburg Opera, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony, London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Swedish Opera and many others.

The Royal Academy of Music, founded in 1822, is the longest-established conservatoire in Britain. Over the generations the Academy has been highly successful in its mission to prepare students for a successful career in music according to the evolving demands of the profession.

Students are trained at the highest level in varied programmes including instrumental performance, jazz, composition, musical theatre and opera, gaining University of London degrees from MMus to PhD level.

Keith Bragg has been Principal Piccolo of the Philharmonia Orchestra since 1982 and has performed with all the major orchestras in London. Keith Bragg also has extensive experience as a chamber musician, being a founder member of the Elysian Wind Quintet, which was the leading British ensemble of its kind for over twenty years.

Keith Bragg has been Professor of Piccolo at the Royal Academy of Music since 1992 and took up the post of Head of Woodwind in 2002.

"While the big record companies flounder, the independents flourish. The Royal Academy of Music's own label is a case in point, with some jolly good recordings in its catalogue"

Metro, June 2006

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