When There Are No Words¿¿¿: Revolutionary Works for Oboe and Piano

by Alex Klein, Phillip Bush

Overview

Listeners may be surprised to see the word "revolutionary" in the subtitle of this album by oboist Alex Klein and pianist Phillip Bush, for the composers fall squarely into the middle 20th century neoclassic mainstream. Klein's notes elaborate his idea that the music was written in response to characteristic forms of 20th century repression; Paul Hindemith's Oboe Sonata was composed as he went into exile in Switzerland, while Pavel Haas' Suite for Oboe and piano, Op. 17, has a flavor of Czech nationalism in the face of the Nazi threat. The works by Benjamin Britten and William Bolcom have antiwar themes lurking in the background. The listener will have to decide how well this works; Klein even concedes that Klement Slavicky's music "responds only to itself." It doesn't matter too much, though, for the music succeeds on its own terms in these elegant performances, and none of the music is overly well-known. The oboe has few masters, probably explaining why Britten's masterly Temporal Variations, fusing together materials from a polka to a chorale to a "commination" (vocabulary word of the day), is not more often performed. Jose Siqueira's Three Etudes for oboe and piano have a warm melancholy Brazilian aspect that owes little to more famous fusions of Brazilian music with European ideas. Producer James Ginsburg (son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) garnered a nomination for the Producer of the Year Grammy award in 2022 in part for this album, and indeed the sound, from a DePaul University hall, is ideal for chamber music, intimate yet clear. A fine release recommended to lovers of 20th century chamber music. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/11/2022
Label:	Cedille Records
UPC:	0735131920827
Rank:	221471

Tracks

1. Sonata for Oboe and Piano~I. Munter
2. Sonata for Oboe and Piano~II. Sehr langsam
3. Suite for Oboe and Piano~I. Furioso
4. Suite for Oboe and Piano~II. Con fuoco
5. Suite for Oboe and Piano~III. Moderato
6. Aubade - for the Continuation of Life
7. Temporal Variations~I. Theme
8. Temporal Variations~II. Oration
9. Temporal Variations~III. March
10. Temporal Variations~IV. Exercises
11. Temporal Variations~V. Commination
12. Temporal Variations~VI. Chorale
13. Temporal Variations~VII. Waltz
14. Temporal Variations~VIII. Polka
15. Temporal Variations~IX. Resolution
16. Three Etudes for Oboe with Piano Accompaniment~I. Calmo
17. Three Etudes for Oboe with Piano Accompaniment~II. Allegro scherzoso
18. Three Etudes for Oboe with Piano Accompaniment~III. Allegro
19. Suite for Oboe and Piano~I. Pastorale
20. Suite for Oboe and Piano~II. Scherzo
21. Suite for Oboe and Piano~III. Triste
22. Suite for Oboe and Piano~IV. Bacchanale rustico

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alex Klein   Primary Artist,Oboe
Phillip Bush   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Benjamin Britten   Composer
James Ginsburg   Producer
Klement Slavicky   Composer
Alex Klein   Liner Notes
Paul Hindemith   Composer
William Bolcom   Composer
Richard Beebe   Piano Technician
Bill Maylone   Engineer
Pavel Haas   Composer
Leon Shernoff   Liner Notes
Jose Siqueira   Composer