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...
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...
Quote from: peter_conole on Wednesday 31 March 2010, 08:29
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...