United

The debut album of the Pacific Quintet on Fuga Libera reflects the diversity of its members and the ensemble's focus; it is also a tribute to the composer who inspired the ensemble: Leonard Bernstein. The award-winning quintet (clarinet, horn, flute, oboe and bassoon) goes beyond the standard classical repertoire and presents music from their home countries Japan, Honduras, South Korea, Germany and Ukraine/Turkey in a programme that transcends all differences in culture, language and tradition. Two pieces, one by Honduran composer Jorge Santos and the other by South Korean composer Soeui Lee, were specially commissioned for this album, which also features Fazil Say's quintet Alevi dedeler rakı masasında and a medley of Japanese folk songs; Hanns Eisler's Divertimento represents Germany, the birthplace of the Pacific Quintet. The album ends with an arrangement of music from West Side Story, a tribute to the famous composer who founded the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, where the musicians first met each other. As this project shows, they are truly united in music.