The United States was once a land of wind instruments. The 19th-century industrial revolution enabled their mass production and at the same time led to the establishment of workers’ bands in factories, which increased demand. Then came the phenomenon of jazz. In the year in which Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of their nation, the LutosAir Quintet will dedicate a concert to music from the other side of the Atlantic, focusing on works created after World War II.

The evening will open with a piece by Kerry Turner. This Texas-born artist is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York and also studied in Stuttgart. He successfully combines writing music with French horn playing. He wrote The Road to Tasartico under the impression of a visit to the eponymous settlement on the west coast of the Atlantic island of Gran Canaria and its rugged, volcanic landscape. Next, you will hear Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Suite for Wind Quintet. Influenced by her husband, the renowned musicologist Charles Seeger, this artist became deeply involved in documenting American folklore. She completed the piece to be presented in Wrocław in 1952, shortly before her untimely death. Returning to creative activity with this work, she drew on the musical language of the European avant-garde. The work earned her a victory in the National Association for American Composers and Conductors competition – a success that proved to be one of the composer’s final moments.

The programme also features a work by Valerie Coleman. The Kentucky-born flutist and founder of the Imani Winds ensemble is now a renowned, Grammy-nominated composer. Her Tzigane was born of a fascination with Eastern Europe seen through the lens of Romani culture, as well as Middle Eastern music performed on the oud lute – thus, it is brimming with expression clearly evocative of these regions of the world. The concert will be complemented by the work of Massachusetts-born David Maslanka. He trained at Oberlin College Conservatory, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Michigan State University. His pieces for wind instruments brought him international fame. Maslanka’s Wind Quintet No. 2 was commissioned by the Manhattan Wind Quintet in 1986 and premiered at New York’s renowned Carnegie Hall. Masterfully capturing the rich timbre of the individual ensemble members, the artist combines simplicity, accessibility, and inspiration from popular music with a modern sonic language.