Unsung concerto instruments...the Oboe

[John Hudock]

A short while back we had a topic on unusual solo instruments used in concertos. I would like to now add a much more conventional instrument that seemingly gets little respect - the oboe. It's one of my favorite instruments, with it's beautiful, plaintive, almost human voice like quality. It was quite popular as a concerto instrument with baroque composers (usually in the form of oboe d'amore) with a large number of wonderful concertos for the instrument by Vivaldi, Albinoni, Marcello, etc... + Bach's wonderful oboe solo concerto and his double oboe,violin concerto. Handel wrote 3 oboe concertos and there are many other baroque examples, but then it seems to peter out. Mozart has his oboe concerto but composers seem to already be losing interest. Except for Mozart's, post baroque oboe concertos are few. There are a bunch by Lebrun (Ludwg August) who was almost an exact contemporary of Mozart (1752-90).  Other contemporaries of Mozart who wrote oboe concertos were Kurt Meier, Ernst Eichner, Ignaz Holzbauer, Giuseppe Ferlendis, Leopold Hofman. Also CPE & JC Bach have oboe concertos plus Dittersdorf, Cimarosa.  Haydn has his concerto for oboe and trumpet. There's a recording of Czech oboe concertos by Fiala, Krommer and Zach.

It seems to have made a minor comeback in the 20th century, there are significant concertos by Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Elliot Carter,Richard Strauss, Bohuslav Martinu, Holst's Fugual concerto for flute & oboe, and a double concerto for oboe and harp by Lutoslawski. There's also a concertino for oboe by Greek composer Nikos Skallkottas. Other 20th century examples include Gordon Jacob (who wrote 2 I believe),  Eugene Goosens, Pawel Sydor, Marco Aurelio Yano, Harald Saeverud, Jouni Kaipainen, Christopher Gunning, Alan Rawsthorne, William Alwyn (for oboe, harp & strings).

But the great romantic composers seemed to have almost entirely ignored the instrument. Can anyone recommend some great romantic oboe concertos. There is a concerto by Bellini which has been recorded, but no late romantic examples I can think of. Rimsky Korsakov has Variations for oboe and military band. August Klughardt has a concert piece for oboe & orch. Ignaz Moscheles wrote a concertante for flute, oboe & orch. And theres a Concert piece for oboe & orch by Julius Rieitz.  Pretty slim pickings it seems. Are there any great romantic oboe concertos waiting to be discovered? Any opinions on why the oboe fell into such disuse in the 19th century?

[EarlyRomantic]

John, What a worthy,stimulating wonder!
I'm more than a little stunned that your post has been neglected.I do have to say that it seems not unusual on this  forum for very intriguing, valid topics to be Too frequently glossed over, even ignored.Given the depth and variety of subjective opinions and erudition contained here, I can't even explain it.You really never know what will excite a response here.Your post has excited one from me, emphatically.I've always found the oboe to be plangent, plush, and haunting. I also lament the lack of Romantic repertory for it.You cited many of those in the (small) Hall of Fame.As vindication, I've been gratified by the  number and quality of composers who entrusted to the oboe excerpts of special poignancy, and some who imbued it with some of their most personal utterances.For a long time, I've longed for someone to excavate the oboe concerti of Gustav Vogt.If I remember accurately, there may be 16 of them! Many, @ any rate! Verroust also penned about another dozen.While they may have also functioned as examination exercises, I have heard one, and it  was melodic, appealing.I hope others will expand this very useful thread with the knowledge that pervades this board.Quit passing by important questions!

[TerraEpon]

Can't talk about the oboe without mentioning Pasculli. Certainly mid-romantic if there ever was. I'm not sure he orchestrated his pieces himself, and know of no actual concerti by him, but the opera fantasies and other pieces (like Le Api) are very good.

Then there's Grandval, but I'm not quite sure if her converto was reconstructed/orchestrated by someone else or not.

[JimL]

Amilcare Ponchielli composed a Capriccio for Oboe and Orchestra (although it may be orchestrated by someone else from a piano part).

[jimmosk]

Bernhard Molique (1802-1869)'s Oboe Concertino in G minor is hardly genius, but definitely Romantic. You can listen to it (free!) here:
http://www.classicalconnect.com/Molique/Concertino/1914

[John Hudock]

Thanks for the suggestions, but it still seems pretty sparse. Does anyone have any idea why the oboe seems to have been eschewed by the Romantics when it was well represented in the Classical and Baroque and enjoyed a decent revival in the 20th century?

[gentile]

Just to add a few more names. In the same romantic-neoclassical vein of the Strauss oboe concerto are the pleasant Idillio-concertino for oboe and chamber orchestra (Op.15) and the Little Concerto for English horn and chamber orchestra (Op.34) by Ermano Wolf-Ferrari (1876-!948), a composer of very fine chamber works (although better known for his operas).
Among the 20th century-born composers I would add the Oboe concerto by the British-born South-African composer Allan Stephenson (1949), who has a penchant for witty concertos much in the Gordon Jacob/Malcolm Arnold style. The oboe concerto by the American George Rochberg (1918) is noteworthy too. Hans Werner Henze (1928) composed also a Double Concerto for oboe, harp and strings, but not one of my favourite works of him. In contrast, I enjoy hearing the Concerto for oboe and strings Op.50 by the little-known Russian composer Yuri Levitin (1912-1996). All these works are available on CD.
As for why the oboe concerto fell in disuse during the Romantic era, I find it difficult to tell. The appearance of the clarinet as a competitor may have something to do but, in general, Romantic composers were not too attracted by wind concertos of any type. Perhaps because the Romantics conceived the concerto for virtuoso soloists and the wind performers were not of the same stature as the contemporary giants of the violin (Paganini, Joachim, Sarasate, Ysaye,...) and piano (Liszt, Rubinstein, Thalberg...).

[gentile]

Ooops! In a haste I forgot to comment in my last post about my favourite "virtual" oboe concerto. The one by Samuel Barber. Sadly, he left it unfinished but, judging from the completed slow moment (billed as "Canzonetta for oboe and strings" in recordings), it would have been a major work. Written, like his three wonderful concertos for violin, piano and cello, in an advanced but highly melodic romantic idiom, it delivers about 9 minutes of pure delight. I hope and wish that Samuel Barber, a truly great composer, will progressively be less and less unsung.

[John Hudock]

Gentile,

As for why the oboe concerto fell in disuse during the Romantic era, I find it difficult to tell. The appearance of the clarinet as a competitor may have something to do but, in general, Romantic composers were not too attracted by wind concertos of any type. Perhaps because the Romantics conceived the concerto for virtuoso soloists and the wind performers were not of the same stature as the contemporary giants of the violin (Paganini, Joachim, Sarasate, Ysaye,...) and piano (Liszt, Rubinstein, Thalberg...).

I think your explanation probably goes a long way in explaining the dearth of oboe concertos in the Romantic era. Still the clarinet seems to have fared better both in concertante works and chamber music.  The need to write for the concert hall where you needed a big name virtuoso to draw a crowd (not so different from now) would've caused composers to focus on getting pieces for the well known players. While the classical and baroque composers were much more focused on writing pieces to keep the musicians in the court or local orchestra well employed. The revival in the 20th is certainly part of the general 20th century movement to explore orchestral 'colors' more, which is why a much wider range of instruments for both chamber and concertante works are used.


Thanks for the additional 20th century recommendations. I will have to add them to my 'look for' list. I have a recording of the Canzonetta, I agree it is lovely. I wasn't aware that it was intended to be part of a larger work.

[Jonathan]

As an ex oboist, I was always surprised when i was learning how little music there actually is for oboe.  Most of it was arrangements of other works e.g. well known children's pieces and (for some reason) Schumann's Kinderszenen.  Later there were little pieces for oboe and piano by people like Lachberry (?sp) and other very obscure British composers.  I never got very far with the instrument, sadly and I sometimes wonder about taking it up again but can't afford to.  As for concerti, apart from the Strauss work (which I really like), I'm hard pressed to think of anything from the 19/20 centuries that hasn't already been mentioned.

As an aside, with regards to odd instumental combinations, there is a little 'Piece' by Faure for oboe and organ, it's rather lovely and lasts about 2 minutes.

[TerraEpon]

quote author=gentile link=topic=413.msg4855#msg4855 date=1269619158]
 the Little Concerto for English horn and chamber orchestra (Op.34) by Ermano Wolf-Ferrari (1876-!948), [/quote]

Oh yes, I heard that on the radio a week ago and forgot about it! Absolutely fascinating piece that I must buy....

(Anf apparently there's an oboe concertino too. as well as a "suite-concerto" for bassoon)

[Mark Thomas]

As for why the oboe concerto fell in disuse during the Romantic era

I'd say that it's because by and large the romantic tradition was one of adversarial concertos. The "bigger" solo instruments: piano, violin and to an extent the cello are better suited to this than wind instruments. It's also, perhaps, more difficult to write a successful full concerto, where an instrument with a comparatively small sound can stand out against the larger sized romantic, or even just Beethovenian- sized, orchestra. I may be wrong, but aren't most of the romantic works featuring wind instruments and orchestra small scale and lightly textured?

[Steve B]

The Wolf-Ferrari works mentioned are difficult and elusive; strange. More acccessible, and very moving, in a wisful, nostalgic way, are the Symphonia Brevis and Cello Concerto; like the woodwind concerti, they are on CPO. I agree that Wolf-Ferrari's chamber works are masterful; the chamber piece for 11 instruments is striking.
Steve

[peter_conole]

Hi all

John, I think Mark may have hit upon one key reason for the decline in the number of 19th century concertante works for instruments other than the piano and violin. Those two instruments dominated the concert halls. This issue was discussed a couple of times in the old Raff forums, so to a degree the following summarises some earlier findings.   

Apart from the issue of scale 'a al' the solo instument and the orchestra Mark mentions, mass production plus pure fashion and past trends played a part in it. Mass production of hardy, robust pianos meant that by the end of the 1800s a staggeringly high proportion of middle class homes had one in the parlour. Less so the violin - but that instrument also won out.

Another vital factor was the appearance of a larger number of talented piano and violin virtuosos who were also competent or brilliant composers. They were the fashion element.   

The drift of events in the previous two centuries is another reason. The dominance of a keyboard instrument and the violin already existed to some extent. Keyboard instuments have always been popular accompaniment machines for the human voice - you could sing or talk more easily if you were playing one - while they played a major role in providing the continuo parts for stage productions. And baroque and classical era composers composed mountains of music for the keyboard. Same as for the violin - and let us not forget it was the  major instrument when Corelli and co were creating something resembling orchestras as we know them.

In terms of output I am certain far more music has been composed for the keyboard and violin respectively than for other instruments from the 1600s until fairly modern times. It is just that in the 1800s a major fade-out began for other instruments (excepting to a lesser extent the cello) in terms of composition of concertante works for public performance.   

As the 19th century drew on, despite the efforts of a few great virtuosos for some (eg, Antonio Pasculli for the oboe, Giovanni Bottesini for the double-bass, Giulio Briccialdi for the flute), the trend tended to sharpen.

I have only been able to track down a couple of oboe works not mentioned in earlier postings. Donizetti composed a concertino in f during the period 1835-1843, though it seems to have been an arrangement of a sonata. Hugo Schunke's concerto in a minor appeared in 1845. Pasculli composed at least four, but three of them were opera paraphrases and were probably composed for tour purposes. Oboe and piano versions first, orchestration later. After Pasculli became the boss of a small orchestra in Sicily (years 1879-1884) he produced a fourth for oboe and strings.

regards
Peter

[Kriton]

Both Rossini and Verdi wrote variations for oboe with orchestral accompaniment, although I think the Rossini piece was originally written for clarinet. (But both composers' pieces for bassoon and orchestra are more fun!) And Respighi composed a concerto a cinque with oboe, but with a lot of other "soloists" as well...

It is just that in the 1800s a major fade-out began for other instruments (excepting to a lesser extent the cello) in terms of composition of concertante works for public performance.   

Actually, the clarinet - and later, still, the horn - had their "fade in" from 1800 onwards, and there are a lot of concertos for those instruments still awaiting discovery; but you're right in that the concerto had become the domain of the piano. I think the violin held its own more because of tradition (most "major" composers only wrote one such work, and I think it was Strauss (R.) who said no one should have written "a thing like that" after Brahms, whilst commenting on his own concerto) than of anything else. Thankfully, the importance of large orchestras in the romantic period assured us of a lot of beautiful wind (oboe) solos - we can at least guess what a late 19th century oboe concerto would sound like...