Oboe Pieces - A Review Of Solo Repertoire
The oboe has been around as a significant solo instrument since the Renaissance and
so it is not surprising that there is a very substantial repertoire of oboe pieces available. There is a massive repertoire of Baroque solos for the instrument and there has been another burst of activity in the last century or so. In between, during the Classical and early Romantic periods, there were far fewer solo pieces written. However, the pieces that were written tend to be particularly good.
In this article I will draw your attention to solo oboe pieces from across the centuries which are particular favourites of mine.
Pretty well all the great Baroque composers produced solo works of great quality. Here are some of my favourites.
- George Fredrick Handel wrote both Sonatas and Concerti for the oboe. Amongst his many works the three Sonatas in C minor, G minor and F are all favourites of mine along with the Concerto in Bb. There is also a delightful little Sonata called "The Fitzwilliam Sonata" in the key of Bb.
- Georg Philipp Telemann was a Baroque composer with a massive output. Much of his music was written as "Tafelmusik" (literally "Table Music") which was composed as background music for banquets; - a kind of live Muzak. He wrote for just about every genre of his time. Many people tend to feel that because he wrote so much music it must be second rate; - nothing could be further from the truth. Some of his solo oboe pieces are wonderful. His Sonata in A minor is a piece I have performed many times. I enjoy playing it and audiences enjoy listening to it.
- Antonio Vivaldi (of "Four Seasons" fame) provided a significant number of pieces to the early oboe repertoire too. His Concerto in A minor is a lovely, if rather challenging piece.
- Tommaso Albinoni is not the best known of the Baroque writers, although his "Adagio" is often heard. He wrote some real gems for solo oboe with a whole series of concerti as well as some delightful double concerti too. His concerti in D major (Op.7 No.6) and Bb major (Op.7 No.3) are the two which are probably most commonly heard.
- There are many other composers of the Baroque era who contributed to the rich repertoire of works for solo oboe. Search the catalogues to find them.
In Classical times, many composers seemed to focus more on the emerging clarinet and on the flute when writing solo woodwind works. However, Mozart wrote two of the greatest works in the whole of the oboe repertoire at that time, the "Concerto in C" and the "Oboe Quartet". Both these works are fairly demanding but are well worth the practice to master them. There is also a Haydn Concerto in C, - the problem here is that we now know it wasn't actually written by Haydn. None-the-less, it is a really fun piece to play.
In the late Romantic era, composers began to return to the oboe as a solo instrument with works such as "Three Romances" by Schumann and "Sonata" by Saint-Saens. These are both very fine compositions.
In the Twentieth Century came a range of new compositions for solo oboe. The Concerto by Richard Strauss is a great challenge to oboists. There are also solo works by such composers as Vaughan Williams, Gordon Jacob & Malcolm Arnold. The unaccompanied "6 Metamorphoses after Ovid" by Benjamin Britten is one of the most original compositions in the whole of the oboe repertoire. I also love performing "Sarabande and Allegro" by French composer Gabriel Grovlez.
This contemporary repertoire is growing all the time. You will find new techniques and extended range in many of the newer works which can be very challenging to players of any standard. Not all contemporary composers, however, are turning to these new approaches to playing, some are writing oboe pieces using traditional techniques and creating pieces which can be enjoyed by players and audiences alike.
Copyright (c) 2010 Robert Hinchliffe
by: Robert Hinchliffe
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