The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet
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New 2019

✔ Laila Storch is now the focus of great international interest; now 97, she will be featured in new reporting on German television. The subject will be the history of women's accepance into the highest ranks of the world's wind players.
see video

New 2018

✔ The hope is that the new "net non-neutrality" rules will not affect the Soni Ventorum website. The site itself is quite small, consisting mostly of links. Also, traffic is such that it is unlikely that it could "crash" due to sudden demand. The links are mostly directed to two servers: the "ibiblio" server at the Unverstiy of North Carolina and the "depts." server at the University of Washington. The expectation is that both servers will contunue their service.


New 2018

✔ The hope is that the new "net non-neutrality" rules will not affect the Soni Ventorum website. The site itself is quite small, consisting mostly of links. Also, traffic is such that it is unlikely that it could "crash" due to sudden demand. The links are mostly directed to two servers: the "ibiblio" server at the Unverstiy of North Carolina and the "depts." server at the University of Washington. The expectation is that both servers will contunue their service.

he hope is that the new "net non-neutrality" rules will not affect the Soni Ventorum website. The site itself is quite small, consisting mostly of links. Also, traffic is such that it is unlikely that it could "crash" due to sudden demand. The links are mostly directed to two servers: the "ibiblio" server at the Unverstiy of North Carolina and the "depts." server at the University of Washington. The expectation is that both servers will contunue their service.

 

New 2018

✔ The hope is that the new "net non-neutrality" rules will not affect the Soni Ventorum website. The site itself is quite small, consisting mostly of links. Also, traffic is such that it is unlikely that it could "crash" due to sudden demand. The links are mostly directed to two servers: the "ibiblio" server at the Unverstiy of North Carolina and the "depts." server at the University of Washington. The expectation is that both servers will contunue their service.

New 2017

✔ New videos are now appearing on You Tube showing the scores of works featured on the home page under the title "Less-known Masterpieces". It is believed that showing the scores will be of greater use to students - and others interested in these works - than showing just the usual sorts of images seen there. Soon the selection will include some better-known masterpieces as well. You Tube has become an important reference for all kinds of music and now that audio quality is quite decent, it will gain in importance.

New 2016

✔ The outstanding program notes by Felix Skowronek are beginning to appear on the Archive page as the programs become available as PDFs on the internet. Visitors are free to copy and use them, but we ask that Mr. Skowronek and this website be credited. Here is an example of a program that yields notes for three different works, by Milhaud, Beethoven and Schafer. Links looking like this will begin to appear below listings on the Archive page: program notes

New 2015

✔ The Lyrichord re-releases are now heard on Spotify visit Spotify, Rhapsody
visit Rhapsody and GooglePlay visit GooglePlay. Spotify is primarily a "streaming" website, where a free membership is offered. (This can result in a surprising pyroclastic flow of hot, loud advertising which interrupts the music. A paid subscription avoids this.) Rhapsody is another streaming website with high audio standards, but offers only a paid membership. GooglePlay is primarily a seller of downloads, with long, generous free sound samples. All three treat each movement of a piece as an isolated "song" and mix them randomly, with no clear indication of who the composer is. The Lyrichord website albums would be a less confusing one to visit and Skowronek's superb program notes are available there. The list of streaming services continues with the recent discovery of these pieces on WiMP visit WiMP and Deezer visit Deezer.

✔The newest iPhone 6 and iPad are said to be able to connect to ogg-vorbis music and pronunciation examples on Wikipedia - if one adds this "app"; get app
We would be interested in hearing from Wikipedia fans how well it works.

New 2014

✔ Re-release from Lyrichord Records! Downloads of the entire contents of four of the earliest Soni Ventorum LP's dating from the 1960's are now available, regrouped into three mp3 albums. The digital remastering is true to the sound of the original analog recordings. A nice plus is that Skowronek's program notes are available as free PDF downloads. order albums

✔ YouTube videos featuring (or just using) music from this website have recently been discovered. Twenty one of the best (or funniest in one case) have been collected at the bottom of the video archive page. Serious attention, however, should be directed toward the beautiful animations of Stephen Malinowski; music lives there in the realm of sight. video archive

✔The newest iPhone models are still incapable of downloading ogg-vorbis music from Wikipedia and Wikimedia, (mp3 links work fine.)

New: 2013

✔ Technical matters again: As reported in the 2012 entry, the iPhone and iPad are incapable of connecting to ogg-vorbis audio links - for example all those on Wikipedia and Wikimedia. This is still the case with the new iPhone 5 and now the new Microsoft phone. Ogg-vorbis enthusiasts can get them on any computer, however. (If a smartphone connection is desired, the Android systems connect easily to ogg-vorbis.) Because the mp3 style of compression is universally accessible, all music links from this website are in mp3 format. However, as a favor to our ogg-vorbis-loving fans, here is a handy listing of most of the Soni Ventorum material found in various Wikipedia articles: Wikimedia Another large collection of ogg-vorbis material contains much music, including eight directories of various Soni Ventorum performances: Directories

It is our sad duty to report the deaths in 2012 of two talented people who have been enormously important to the group. Robert Bonnevie, the superb French horn player who made Soni Ventorum's first commercial recordings for the Lyrichord label in the 1960's, has passed away, Also Neil Skowronek, Felix Skowronek's son, who created this website in 2006 has died. He was a brilliant graphic designer and, although his many storyboards for TV commercials and movies will unfortunately be forgotten, this website, which he created as a memorial to his father, will continue to exist as he designed it (with new material added as needed), and it will stand as his memorial also.

New: 2012

✔ There is now an entry for the Soni Ventorum quintet in Wikipedia. Article Although still incomplete, the listing will contain some interesting information and some useful links.

✔ Technical matters: all of the music links in this website are in high quality (192 or 224 kbit/s) mp3 format. However all Wikipedia music links, such as the ones in the article mentioned above, must be in the free Ogg-Vorbis format, which some believe to be superior to mp3. A side-by-side comparison is offered here - two versions of the same peformance of the Finale of the Gounod Petite Symphonie: mp3 and Ogg-Vorbis (Speed of download depends only upon how busy the particular server is at the moment, not upon the format.) All newer computers and the Droid cell phone can download ogg-vorbis files, but we are told that it is impossible on the Apple iPad and iPhone. We would be interested in hearing from our visitors about any "fixes" for this problem.

New:2011

✔ Crystal Records has just re-released in CD format the Taffanel Quintet and two Danzi Quintets: Op. 68, No. 2 in F major and Op. 68, No. 3 in D minor. order CD
Crystal's original Soni Ventorum LP recordings (No. 12 - 14 in the discography) are out of print, but the company still has copies of much of its LP inventory, new and in the original packaging. These recordings are still sought after by die-hard analog devotees. order LP

✔ There are many new additions to the list of downloadable performances to be found on the Archive page. All of the woodwind chamber music of Villa Lobos is now there as well as all six Rossini quartets.

✔ Among the many fine composers who have written important works for the Soni Ventorum, William O. Smith website stands out as one who has repeatedly challenged and delighted the group. Now a video of a half-hour public television interview from 1995 has become available. video Besides evoking nostalgia for the old days of public television, the broadcast explains much about Smith's remarkable career. A brief appearance by Joel Barbosa, clarinet, is included at the end of the show.

✔ Other recent additions to the page are works by Janáček, Saint-Saëns, Barber, Babbitt, Ligeti, Milhaud, Françaix, Bergsma and many others.

New: 2010

✔ Laila Storch's biography of Marcel Tabuteau, now in its third printing, has gathered an impressive number of new reviews. see reviews She now has solo and other performances of interest which can be found on the Artists page as well as the Archives page:
Cambini - Sinfonia Concertante No. 1 in C major. A rare early recording made in Italy in 1956, with Robert Cole, bassoon and the Orchestra Accademia dell'Orso, Newell Jenkins conducting: 1. Allegro download mp3 2. Rondo Allegro
download mp3
Bach - Adagio from the Concerto for Oboe and Violin download mp3
Mozart - Quartet for Oboe and Strings K.370 download mp3

✔ The Soni Ventorum Quintet is the most-recorded wind quintet. A complete listing of the group's commercial recordings is now available. discography. At present the Schoenberg Quintet is available for download:
1. Schwungvoll download mp3
2. Anmutig und Heiter: Scherzando download mp3
3. Etwas Langsam download mp3
4. Rondo download mp3

✔ The discography is from the book, "The Story of the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet" by the flutist and historian Megan Lyden. The book is now available for purchase in a variety of formats. book

✔ An assortment of posters from various tours has been added to the History page: from Milan, Venice, Naples and Palermo, Italy; Poznan, Poland; Paris, France;
Salonika, Greece: Ankara, Turkey and the group's favorite poster: Puerto Rico
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New: 2009

✔ Soni Ventorum television show excerpts have now been added to the Video Archive. Live performances of the Ibert quintet and the Françaix quartet can be found, as well as the always-amusing bassoon solo, Starý Bručoun (Old Grumper), by Fučik. video archive

✔This memoir and biography is already an"instant classic"!

Storch, Laila. Marcel Tabuteau: "How do you expect to play the oboe if you can't peel a mushroom?". Indiana, 2008. 594p bibl index afp CD; ISBN 9780253349491, $29.95. Reviewed in 2009jan CHOICE.

A former student of Tabuteau, Storch (emer., Univ. of Washington School of Music) combines Tabuteau's biography and philosophies with institutional and cultural history and douses the whole with anecdotal humor. She begins with her own experiences of her teacher but reaches far beyond her personal knowledge. A world-renowned oboist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and professor at The Curtis Institute, Tabuteau (1887-1966) not only revolutionized oboe playing but also had a significant influence on orchestral teaching in the US. On the included CD, Tabuteau himself demonstrates his musical philosophy and his unique character. The cornucopia of stories and pictures volunteered by friends, family, students, and colleagues covers everything from his fumbles as a young oboist in New York, to his trouble during the gold embargo of 1933, to his retirement years in Nice. Combining a rich portrait of Tabuteau with discussion of the music and culture of period, Storch's intriguing book will appeal to a broad audience, not just oboists. Anyone interested in music will find Tabuteau's philosophies and Storch's research beneficial and applicable. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty/professionals; general readers. -- E. E. Frisbie, Lawrence University
From CHOICE – Reviews Online by American Library Association

✔A newly added rarity is the Villa-Lobos masterpiece, Choros No. 7. This mega-chorinho displays the composer's mastery of what has been called ABCDEFG form; nevertheless, it is almost never performed. Aside from its extreme difficulty, its unusual demands include a Bb clarinet going down to low Eb, an elegant alto saxophone, and the "deal breaker": the ferocious col legno in the violin part! Here Martin Friedmann, the "yeoman of the bow men" leads the group as he demonstrates his sensitive echt-Wiener Bogenführung before turning savage at the end.

Villa Lobos, Heitor  Choros #7 for flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, bassoon, violin and 'cello. Felix skowronek, flute; Laila Storch, oboe; William McColl, clarinet; Dr. Steve Allen, alto saxophone; Arthur Grossman, bassoon; Martin Friedmann, violin; Toby Saks, 'cello. download mp3 or: mp3 mirror

Please feel free to contact us at:  winds@soniventorum.com