Five first-class brass players have joined together to form a quintet called Ensemble Schwerpunkt. Their brilliant debut CD contains Luciano Berio’s “Call” and Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Quattro”, standard works from the brass repertoire, but the focus is on compositions written specifically for the ensemble.

After all, these five musicians are dedicated to promoting a broad, demanding repertoire for their instrumentation. This means taking risks and pushing the boundaries of what’s technically possible: Benedict Mason’s “Brass Quintet” lay in a drawer for 25 years until any quintet dared to undertake it. Ensemble Schwerpunkt’s first performance and the world premiere recording here capture their fiery interpretation of this work.