Pleyel: Partitas For Winds / Amphion Wind Octet, Pleyel / Amphion Wind Octet, Release Date: 02/26/2013, Composer: Ignace Joseph Pleyel, Orchestra/Ensemble: Amphion Wind Octet, Number of Discs: 1, The heyday of wind ensemble music comprised the relatively brief period from 1780 to 1800 and was chiefly limited to corresponding ensembles at courts of the European nobility. The area of focus in this field was the south German linguistic and cultural region with Vienna as it's outstanding musical centre. Most of the works for wind ensemble are for octet, intended for the entertainment of invited guests and frequently performed outdoors. There was always a great demand for new works, and Ignaz Joseph Pleyel proved himself to be a productive composer and resourceful arranger of his own and other works for wind ensemble. The Amphion Wind Octet is the best known ensemble for this combination and has already made about ten recordings issued by the labels Pan Classics and Accent. Members of the ensemble include the oboist Xenia Löffler as well as Václav Luks, who is not only an outstanding horns player but also the director of the Prague Collegium 1704. With this Pleyel recording, the Amphion Wind Octet is making these appealing and charming works better known, presenting them here as a world premiere recording.