Double Wind Quintet Music
Contemporary Double Wind Quintet Music & Repertoire
This collection of contemporary double wind quintet music features works written for the expanded wind ensemble configuration of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns. The pieces explore a wide range of colors, textures, and ensemble interactions unique to this instrumentation. Suitable for concerts, academic programs, and professional performances, these compositions highlight both individual voices and the full ensemble’s expressive potential. This page provides an overview of available works, including instrumentation details, program notes, and score information.
TETRIS
for double wind quintet (decet)
Duration:
18 minutes
Instrumentation:
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets,
2 horns, 2 bassoons
Year Composed:
2009
Written For:
The Hindemith Quintet
Commissioned By:
Hochschule für Musik, Mainz, with kind support from the Annie Eisler Lehmenn Stiftung
Premiere Performance:
6 September 2011
Mainz, Germany
Hindemith-Quintet and students from the Hochschule für Musik
Movements:
1. Keep moving
2. Gutter People
3. Getting busy
4. Keeping busy
DOUBLE WIND QUINTET
Program Notes
Tetris — for double wind quintet, was written during the fall of 2009 in New York City. The city, with its fast pace of life, neurotic flow, continuous stream of people, traffic, and information, serves as the inspiration for this piece. Watching from the sidelines, the fast-moving people appeared to me like robots controlled by an above force, mechanically moving from one place to another, fighting against the clock, against the part of the brain that says – “Relax!” and against each other. Surviving amidst a jungle of brick walls and tall buildings. It seemed to me that people could not enjoy a full basic inhale-exhale process. Good breathing consumes too much time.
People were constantly looking for ways to juggle between many things at the same time. They seemed to me like Tetris players who try to match the bricks to a certain pattern, constantly in demand to increase speed. Though to the stranger, this pace of life looks fascinating and exciting, I felt that deep inside things look a bit different, quite tragic.
The piece consists of four connected sections: Keep moving, Gutter People, Getting busy, and Keeping busy. The first and fourth movements refer to the continuous, breathless pace of life. Restless people are the subject of the third movement, a short satire. The second movement is inspired by the thousands of people who spend all their lives in the cellar of a restaurant or shop after immigrating from far away, only to serve the ever-hurrying people above them.
Tetris was written for the Hindemith Woodwind Quintet. It was commissioned by the Hochschule für Musik, Mainz with kind support from the Annie Eisler Lehmann Stiftung.
A note from behind the notes…
Tetris was written in a tiny sublet in New York, where my window faced nothing but a brick wall. I suspect that view had something to do with the piece’s obsession with blocks falling into place.
Videos
TETRIS - for double wind quintet
performed by the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble under the direction of Charles Peltz.
NEC Wind Ensemble: "Tetris" by Lior Navok
TETRIS - Score Video
Score Sample
Score of Tetris for double wind quintet
Double Wind Quintet Repertoire List
George Enescu – Decet, Op. 14 (1906)
Malcolm Arnold – Trevelyan Suite, Op. 96 (1967)
Darius Milhaud – Dixtuor d'instruments à vent, Op. 75 (1921)
Scored for 2 flutes, oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, and 2 horns, this richly textured piece blends classical serenade traditions with Romantic lyricism and contrapuntal complexity.
Anna Clyne – Overflow (2020)
Originally written for an educational project, this approachable and spirited suite highlights Arnold’s melodic gifts and his knack for engaging ensemble writing.
This colorful, polytonal work uses an expanded decet instrumentation including piccolo and bass clarinet. It reflects Milhaud's flair for rhythmic inventiveness and harmonic layering.
A recent and atmospheric piece for standard double wind quintet, Overflow uses gradually shifting textures and layered harmonies to create a sense of constant motion and fluidity.
Florent Schmitt – Lied et Scherzo, Op. 54 (1910)
Gunther Schuller – Double Quintet (1961)
Tilo Medek – Decet (1993)
Claude Arrieu – Dixtuor pour instruments à vent (1967)
Composed for a double wind quintet with a featured horn soloist, this work is admired for its lush harmonies, evocative moods, and seamless interplay among the instruments.
Bringing together a woodwind and a brass quintet, Schuller explores the contrasts and synergies between the two timbral families in a bold and modernist structure.
Medek’s decet features a wide range of instrumental color, with doublings including piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon, offering a dramatic and nuanced soundscape.
This witty and neoclassical work combines winds and brass for a bright, clear ensemble sound, emphasizing charm, rhythmic clarity, and elegance.