Product Description

The National Brass Ensemble is comprised of the finest brass players in major orchestras across the United States. There are twenty-six members most of whom currently hold principal positions in the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Repertoire includes excerpts from Giovanni Gabrieli's innovative Sacrae symphoniae (1597), arranged for this ensemble by San Francisco Symphony trombonist Tim Higgins, and the debut of Music for Brass, a new work by celebrated film composer John Williams. Generously supported by Oberlin alumnus Dr. Joseph Markoff and his wife Phyllis, the recording has been inspired by an historic, Grammy Award-winning recording, The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli, featuring the legendary brass ensembles of the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. It has been long admired as the definitive modern performance of Giovanni Gabrieli's works.National Brass Ensemble:Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone, New York PhilharmonicDavid Bilger, Principal Trumpet, The Philadelphia OrchestraJeffrey Curnow, Associate Principal Trumpet, The Philadelphia OrchestraMarc Damoulakis, Principal Percussion, The Cleveland OrchestraNitzan Haroz, Principal Trombone, The Philadelphia OrchestraRandall Hawes, Bass Trombone, Detroit Symphony OrchestraTim Higgins, Principal Trombone, San Francisco SymphonyThomas Hooten, Principal Trumpet, Los Angeles PhilharmonicMark J. Inouye, Principal Trumpet, San Francisco SymphonyRichard King, Principal Horn, The Cleveland OrchestraMassimo La Rosa, Principal Trombone, The Cleveland Orchestra Adam Luftman, Principal Trumpet, San Francisco Opera and Ballet orchestrasJames Markey, Bass Trombone, Boston Symphony OrchestraChris Martin, Principal Trumpet, Chicago Symphony OrchestraMichael Martin, Trumpet, Boston Symphony OrchestraJennifer Montone, Principal Horn, The Philadelphia OrchestraMichael Mulcahy, Trombone, Chicago Symphony OrchestraGene Pokorny, Principal Tuba; Chicago Symphony OrchestraThomas Rolfs, Principal Trumpet, Boston Symphony OrchestraMike W. Roylance, Principal Tuba, Boston Symphony OrchestraMichael Sachs, Principal Trumpet, The Cleveland OrchestraJames Sommerville, Principal Horn, Boston Symphony OrchestraYasuhito Sugiyama, Principal Tuba, The Cleveland OrchestraRobert Ward, Principal Horn, San Francisco SymphonyGail Williams, former Associate Principal Horn, Chicago Symphony OrchestraPaul Yancich, Principal Timpani, The Cleveland Orchestra

Review

Classics Today: Artistic Quality 10/Sound Quality 10
"The National Brass Ensemble consists of principal players from the three original orchestras just cited, plus members of the symphony orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, and Boston-twenty-four players in all. It doesn't get much better than that... As a bonus, two Cleveland percussionists join the group for John Williams' specially composed Music for Brass, a four-minute jeu d'esprit that makes an excellent encore. The entire program is recorded in stellar SACD sound. Oberlin Music, the house label of the eponymous conservatory, has done excellent work to date, but this release is truly special by any standard."
--David Hurwitz, Classicstoday.com, 2015
"...on this album the National Brass Ensemble (playing on modern instruments) presents a selection of pieces from Gabrieli's beloved Sacrae Symphonia collection. Their playing is bright and joyful, and conveys the majesty of this music beautifully."
--Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist, November 2, 2015
"John Williams's eventful five-minute Music for Brass - written for the National Brass Ensemble in 2014 - is, as the composer says in his booklet-note, an affectionate salute to 'the diverse groups forming the ensemble', and even includes a Till Eulenspiegel-type musical joke just before the end.
The Skywalker SoundStage sound, even in conventional mode, is impressive; as a hi res SACD it is a breathtaking demonstration of the enveloping warmth and sense of space the medium has to offer." --Laurence Vittes, Gramophone Sounds of America, January 2016