Embarking on a series of recordings of classical originals for symphonic wind band is an adventurous quest. We decided to compile German-Austrian gems on this second volume, illustrating the development and expansion of the symphonic wind band of nearly one and a half century: from Beethoven (1810) to Hindemith (1951).

Richard Strauss composed “Variationen über ‘Wilhelm von Oranien’ “ in 1892. The former principal conductor of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy, major Pieter Jansen, rediscovered this work in the archives of the Royal House of the Netherlands in 1999. It became our National Anthem in 1932, but the melody dates back to at least 1572. Another work on this CD that was published only twenty years ago is the beautiful and virtuosic Nocturne by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Two marches by composers no less than Beethoven and Bruckner, should naturally be included on a CD by a military band, representing a different and lesser-known part of their repertoire.

We conclude our journey with three twentieth century German-Austrian giants: Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schönberg and Kurt Weill. Interestingly, their works on this album were all composed in the United States, where all three of them spent time during the course of their careers. - Arjan Tien