Quintet for English Horn and Strings
About this Piece
Paul Turok is a composer, critic, publisher, and editor of Turok’s Choice – a music and video review subscription publication that he founded in 1990. He has collaborated with oboe/English horn player Carolyn Hove on several pieces, as he notes in his own words about the Quintet for English Horn and Strings: “I have had the good fortune to develop a friendship with Carolyn Hove, a superb English horn player. Over the years, I wrote a number of chamber music pieces involving English horn, including the Quintet. Carolyn responded enthusiastically when I sent her some of these pieces. She performed and recorded my Improvisations for English Horn, Violin, and Piano, and is now playing the Quintet on this prestigious series. She has also performed my Partita No. 3 (which I wrote for her) and I recently completed a sonata for her as well. The Quintet is in the four traditional movements: a quasi-sonata form first, scherzo, slow movement, and quasi-rondo. The strings are meant to blend with the English horn as chamber music, rather than merely provide an accompaniment.”
- Jessie Rothwell is a freelance writer and musician living in Los Angeles.