A brass quintet is a group of five musicians who play brass instruments. The usual setup includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone. There are two main setups for a brass quintet: one with two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone, and a tuba; and another with two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone, and a bass trombone. Musicians in a brass quintet may sometimes play more than one instrument. For example, trumpet players might also play piccolo trumpets or flugelhorns. The setup can change depending on the type of quintet. In some groups, the French horn is replaced by an extra trombone, and a euphonium can sometimes take the place of the trombone. While the tuba is usually included, some musical pieces are better suited for a bass trombone as the lowest-pitched instrument. Some compositions also include percussion instruments such as the snare drum, tambourine, or timpani.

Early history

The earliest brass chamber music was written between the mid-1800s and late 1800s. This time also saw the creation of brass instruments that could play all the notes in a musical scale. The Distin family formed one of the first brass quintets in 1833. They traveled across Europe and the United States to share a new type of brass instrument called saxhorns. In Paris, composers began writing chamber music as more amateur brass musicians formed groups. An example of this early music was a set of twelve brass quintets written in 1850 by Jean-François Bellon. These early works often included instruments like the cornet, horn, trombone, and ophicleide, though the exact combination varied. Brass chamber music also developed in Russia because of Alexander III, who played the cornet and hosted performances in his palace. German musicians living in Russia helped create and perform brass chamber music during this time. Wilhelm Wurm, a cornet soloist, taught Alexander III, organized the first brass ensemble concert at the court in 1867, and wrote seventy-six brass quartets. Other early works include six brass quartets by Wilhelm Ramsøe, thirteen brass quintets by Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer (published in 1881), two brass quartets by Vassily Brandt, and a brass sextet by Oskar Böhme (1907). The Russian composer Victor Ewald wrote four brass quintets between 1888 and 1912, which are still often performed today. Brass septets were common in Finland and Sweden around the start of the 1900s. Jean Sibelius wrote several pieces for this group, including "Tiera" in 1898.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the size and types of instruments used in brass chamber music were not yet standardized. Brass quartets were more common than brass quintets during this time. In the 1870s, German cornet players Julius Kosleck and Theodor Hoch, along with other professional musicians, toured the United States to promote brass quartet music. The music publisher Carl Fischer helped spread compositions and arrangements for brass quartets. In 1940, Robert King, a euphonium player from Boston, started his own publishing company to raise the status of brass quartets to match that of string quartets. He later expanded to publish and promote brass chamber music of different sizes and instrument combinations. He remained a key source for brass chamber music until his retirement in 1991. In 1951, British trumpet player Philip Jones formed the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble as a brass quartet. The group toured widely and promoted brass chamber music. Over time, the ensemble grew to ten members but often performed pieces with different instrument groupings, including brass quintets.

Development of the modern brass quintet

The modern brass quintet first appeared in New York City after World War II. In 1954, Robert Nagel and Harvey Phillips changed the structure of the earlier New York Brass Ensemble into the New York Brass Quintet, which became the first regularly performing brass quintet in its most common form: two trumpets, one horn, one trombone, and one tuba. The main difference between this group and the more common brass quartets of the time was the inclusion of the tuba. In its early years, the New York Brass Quintet performed many pieces arranged by Robert King from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, as well as limited works like "Music for Brass Instruments" (1944) by Ingolf Dahl and "Sonatine" (1951) by Eugène Bozza. The group's focus on education helped raise its popularity, leading to commissions for new music from composers like Malcolm Arnold and Gunther Schuller (1961). The quintet ended its performances in 1985. Another group, the American Brass Quintet, was created in 1960 and still exists today. This ensemble replaced the tuba with a bass trombone, allowing it to play early music with a sound closer to historical styles. The Annapolis Brass Quintet was the first in the United States to have all its members perform full-time with the group. The ensemble toured North America, Europe, and Asia from 1971 until it ended in 1993.

The popularity of brass quintets grew significantly with the founding of Canadian Brass in 1970. This group helped make the brass quintet a well-known and popular type of chamber music performance. Canadian Brass performed over 5,000 concerts, sold more than 500,000 music books, and created a collection of over 600 compositions and arrangements for brass quintets. They remain one of the most famous and well-known brass quintets today. The brass quintet has developed a large amount of music literature despite being firmly established only in the second half of the 20th century. Important contributions include commissions by groups like the American Brass Quintet and arrangements by ensembles such as Canadian Brass. Specifically, Dr. Arthur Frackenpohl arranged and transcribed many pieces for Canadian Brass over 20 years. His work helped create music not only for Canadian Brass but for all brass quintets.

International Brass Quintet Festival

In 1980, the International Brass Quintet Festival and Symposium was started. At that time, it was the only event of its kind. This festival, like other festivals for orchestras and bands, included music discussions, lessons with experts, competitions, programs where groups stayed and performed, and free concerts. The festival took place from 1980 to 1992 in the Village of Cross Keys, Baltimore, Maryland. During this time, many famous brass quintets performed, including the Budapest Brass Quintet, Le Concert Arban from Paris, Ensemble Prisma from Vienna, and the Theo Martens Brass Quintet. In 1989, a historic event happened when the Berlin Brass Quintet from East Berlin performed on the same stage as the Brandenburg Quintet from West Berlin before the Berlin Wall officially fell.

Examples of notable brass quintets

• American Brass Quintet
• Annapolis Brass Quintet
• Atlantic Brass Quintet
• Canadian Brass
• Chestnut Brass Company
• Chicago Brass Quintet
• Dallas Brass
• Empire Brass
• Meridian Arts Ensemble
• New York Brass Quintet
• Presidio Brass
• Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet
• Zephyr Brass Collective