BERNARD GARFIELD performed the rarely heard Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra (1960) by Alvin Etler, assisted by the other first-chair members of the Philadelphia Orchestra: Murray Panitz, flute; Richard Woodhams, oboe; Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; and Nolan Miller, horn; and the orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti, in concerts on April 24, 25, 26, and 29, 1986, as well as subsequent later dates. In the program notes for the concert, Philadelphia Orchestra Editor, Bernard Jacobson described the work in the following manner:

The Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra is, as all this would lead one to expect, an expertly written unpretentious, and admirably undoctrinaire piece. Composed in 1960 at the suggestion of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet, whose performance of one of his wind quintets he had greatly enjoyed, it is being played by the present members of that ensemble several times this year, both in Philadelphia and on tour. The world premiere was given in Tokyo on October 18, 1962, by the New York Woodwind Quintet and the Japan Philharmonic under Akeo Watanabe, and Leonard Bernstein conducted the U.S. premiere a week later with the New York Philharmonic and its principal wind players. In its original version heard in those performances, the concerto called for orchestra] woodwinds in addition to those in the solo quintet, but in a subsequent revision Etler removed these from the score in the interests of greater transparency, and the work is heard on this occasion in its revised form.

Of the three movements, the most unusual in shape is the first. Though this tripartite movement begins with an orchestra] passage nearly a minute in length before the solo quintet enters, it does not follow the classical pattern of concerto first movements developed by Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms and distinguished by the device of the introductory orchestral exposition known as the ritornello. Instead, Etler provides a more closely interwoven structure in which soloists and tutti constantly share and react to each other's thematic material, and the rapid three-note semitonal motif heard almost at the very outset is the germ from which the entire movement grows. The movement's initial Maestoso section occupies more than half its duration, and the build of the whole resembles rather the long slow alap and the impetusgathering climactic gat of Indian music than any classical Western introduction -and -allegro.

The sustained lyricism of the slow movement and the persistent syncopations of the final provide well-judged contrast, but in both the thematic basis is again the semitone figure from the first movement, and this element unifies even the apparently contrasted material given to quintet and orchestra in the finale. Midway through the latter, extended passages for pizzicato strings and for xylophone add still more variety to the concerto's already colorful instrumental palette.

PHILIP GÖTTLING performed a recital at the University of Texas at Austin on April 27, 1986, assisted by Peter Kairoff, piano, organ and harpsichord; Douglas Kirk, cornetto; Karl Kraber, flute; Wayne Moss, viola da gamba, and William Rhodes, Narrator. Entitled "A Tribute to the Bassoon", the works performed included the Canzon Seconda (1625) by Giovanni Picchi; and the Fantasie in D minor (1638) by Bartoleme di Selma y Salaverde, both played on the dulcian; and the Sonata in F major by Telemann; the Sonata in F major by Dard; and the Sonata in D major by Boismortier, all three played on the baroque bassoon. The second half of the concert was all played on the modern bassoon and included the Divertissement and Recit et Variations by Fernand Oubradous; Soliloques (1968) for solo bassoon by Antoine Tisne; the Fantasie sur la "Norma" for flute, bassoon and piano, by Eugene Jancourt, and Tribute to the Bassoon by William 0. Smith.

GREGG HENEGAR performed the Concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra by Donald Erb at the Cleveland Institute of Music on December 17, 1986, with Louis Lane conducting. This was the only performance of this work in the U.S. this year.

LEONARD HINDELL performed a recital at the Manhattan School of Music on March 17, 1986, assisted by John van Busick, piano and harpsichord. Works performed included the Sonata in F for oboe, bassoon, and continuo by Handel, assisted by Joseph Robinson, oboe; Twelve Variations on a theme from Judas Maccabeus, by Beethoven; the Impromptu and Humoresque by Gliere; the second Concert Piece by Mendelssohn, assisted by Charles Russo, clarinet; the Divertissement by Francaix, assisted by members of the Harvey String Quartet; the Hindemith Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and strings, assisted by Philip Smith, trumpet, and the Arias from The Barber of Seville by Rossini, (arr. for two bassoons by Francois Gebauer) where he was joined by bassoonist Steven Maxym.

LUANN LITLE performed a recital at the College -Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, on February 25, 1986, assisted by Phillip Faris, piano. Works performed included the Variazioni Giocosi by Vaclav Lidl; the Concertino by Bernard Crusell, the Poulenc Sonata, with clarinettist Newell Hutchinson; the Vivaldi Concerto in E minor; and the world premiere of Two Grotesquesies for Four Bassoons by David Denniston, assisted by bassoonists Lisa Frank, Kathryn Campalese and Bridget Allaire.

WILLIAM LUDWIG performed a recital at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on March 7, 1986, assisted by Nancy Saxon, piano and David Harris, clarinet. Works performed included the Sonata in G minor for Viola da Gamba and Continuo, BWV 1029, by Bach, transcribed for bassoon; the Fantasiestücke for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 73, by Schumann, transcribed for bassoon; the Poulenc Sonata,- and the Concerto for Bassoon, String Orchestra, Harp, and Piano (1954), by André Jolivet.

BRIDGET ALLAIRE performed a recital at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, on January 27, 1986, assisted by Jackson Leung, piano. Her program included the Cavatina by Mercadante; the Duet #3 by Beethoven, with clarinettist, Miriam Shires; the Fantasia Numerica by Van Slyck; and the Mozart Concerto.

PHILLIP AUSTIN performed a chamber music recital at the Cleveland Music School Settlement on November 24, 1985. His program included the Trio in B-flat, Op. 13, No. 3, by Gebauer, assisted by Bert Siegel, violin and Donald White, cello; the Monolog #5 for solo bassoon by von Koch; and the Sonata for bassoon and guitar by Goepfert, assisted by James Hilton Luce, guitar. For the second half of the program, Austin was joined by the other members of the CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA BASSOON QUARTET in a program of many of the "classics" of the literature, including the Hunter's Chorus from Der Freischütz by Weber (arr. by Win. Allgood); Papageno's Aria from the Magic Bassoon by Mozart, and the Chaconne from The Prophetes by Purcell.

KATHRYN CAMPALESE performed a recital at the College -Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, on April 22, 1986, assisted by Jackson Leung, piano and harpsichord. Her program included the Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, by Ludwig Merci; the Sonata Milanese (1984) by Ivan Erod; the Stamitz Concerto in F,- and the Pastorales de Noël by Andre Jolivet, assisted by Linda Innes, flute, and Julie Koenig, harp.

JAMES MENDENHALL performed a lecture/recital at Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, on February 2, 1986, on which he performed on viols, racketts, curtals, recorders, and bassoons! Works performed included Dances from Terpsichore (1612) by Praetorius, performed on the tenor and bass rackett; Den Nachtegael (1646) by Jacob van Eyck, baroque rackett; Canzona "La Giacintina" by Giacinto Bondioli, tenor curtal and harpsichord; Sonata Prima (1645) by Bertoli, bass curtal and harpsichord- Rondeau (1732), by Boismortier, baroque bassoon and harpsichord; and Psalm 23, for reciter, flute and bassoon, St. John 14:1-3, and Acts 10:34-35, for tenor and bassoon by David Goldstein; Five Impromptus for guitar and bassoon, by Fredrich K. Wanek, assisted by guitarist Andrew MacDonald; and Five Songs for tenor and bassoon (1983) by David Goldstein, assisted by tenor John Pfautz.

REBECCA NOREEN and oboist STEVEN WADE performed a guest recital at the Connecticut College Department of Music, New London, Connecticut on March 26, 1986. Works performed included the Suite in C minor, Op. 5, No. 2, by J. J. Hotteterre; Sarabande et Cortege by Dutilleux, Evocations pour Cor Anglais Seul by Tomasi, the Poulenc Trio, and Seven-Eleven for oboe, bassoon, piano, and baritone, by Kevin Murphy, assisted by baritone Gref Mancusi-Ungaro, and the composer at the piano. In reviewing the latter work for the Boston Globe, critic Nancy Miller described Seven-Eleven as a piece that "...graphically detailed a horrifying nightmare about drowning at sea... the textures were unrelievedly dense - this, one supposed, intended to convey the suffocating intensity of the dream - with brief respite only in reflection toward 'the stars brightly trembling' (fragments of 'O Holy Night')," According to the composer's notes, the title comes from the last words of a victim of a shipwreck, who, overcome by exposure to the elements while awaiting rescue, jumped into the sea with the final words: "I am just going down to the Seven-Eleven for beer and cigarettes."

DANIEL SMITH performed a recital at Wigmore Hall, London, on September 26, 1986, assisted by Anthony Saunders, piano, and the Coull String Quartet. Works performed included the Quartet in B-flat, Op. 40, No. 3, by Danzi; the Adagio, Op. 9, No. 2, by Weissenborn, the Hurlstone Sonata,- the Suite for Bassoon and String Quartet by Gordon Jacob; the Vivaldi Sonata No. 2; the Elgar Romance, and the Reicha Quintet for Bassoon and Strings.

CHRISTOPHER WEAIT performed a faculty/guest recital at the School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, on September 5, 1986, assisted by Thomas Wells, piano and harpsichord, and Margaret Barstow, cello. Works performed included the Sonata No. 2 in G major by Galliard; the Hindemith Sonata; the Variations for Solo Bassoon by Christopher Weait; the world premiere of Three Short Pieces for Bassoon and Piano (1986) by Thomas Wells, who is founder and co-director of the Sound Synthesis Studios at Ohio State University; Airs de la Renaissance Espagnole for Bassoon and Cello, by Daniele Zarmetovich, and the Weber Andante and Hungarian Rondo.

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