9. New Spalicek. Miniatures: II. The forsaken Lover 1:24
10. New Slovak Songs: II. So tell me 2:47
11. New Spalicek. Miniatures: VI. The unhappy Lover 2:49
12. Songs for a Friend of my Country: III. Religious Song 2:33
Pavel Haas (1899 - 1944): Suita for Oboe and Piano Op. 17 (1939)
13. I. Furioso 4:18
14. II. Con Fuoco 5:52
15. III. Moderato 6:55
Pavel Haas : Suite for Oboe and Piano Op.17 (1939)
Oboe: Viola Wilmsen
Piano: Kimiko Imani
BEYOND “BEAUTIFUL SONORITIES”
What types of musical character do we associate with the oboe? We imagine
long, lyrical phrases, mournful, fragile melodies, agile musicianship, and a
folk-like character. During my time as principal oboist in the orchestra of
the Deutsche Oper Berlin, it felt as if I died “a thousand deaths” every
evening until the main character on stage had finally breathed his/her last
sigh and the sobbing oboe had sung its plaintive melody to the end. On the
other hand, have you ever heard an oboe sonority that is fierce, conquering
or threatening?
The 20th century produced a number for works for oboe and piano in which the
woodwind instrument adopts an almost “furious” character. In this program we
would like to demonstrate the oboe’s variety of tone colour and great versatility. Our
basic idea is centered on the oboe as a “singing voice”, with its tremendous
ability to phrase long cantilenas: hence, this program is closely associated
with the human voice. We have selected three works originally written for
oboe, along with two brief vocal works we have arranged for the instrument.
Unpretentious works from the youth of a composer such as Martinů stand
alongside dramatic late works such as Pavel Haas’s Suite, which he originally
conceived for voice but later arranged for oboe. Here we combine the
original sources of inspiration –Moravian folk songs – with a series of
works heavily influenced by Moravian folk music: the Suites by Pavel
Haas and Klement Slavický, as well as Leoš Janáček’s opera Jenufa.
Oboe & Piano