Twentieth Century Oboe Concertos

Bohuslav Martinu (Composer), Pawel Sydor (Composer), Marco Aurelio Yano (Composer), Paul Freeman (Conductor), Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Daniela Kosinova (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Daniela Kosinova
• Orchestra: Czech National Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Paul Freeman
• Composer: Bohuslav Martinu, Pawel Sydor, Marco Aurelio Yano
• Audio CD (November 30, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Cedille
• ASIN: B0006B984C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,285 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Alex Klein presents world premiere recordings of two works written expressly for him: fellow Brazilian native Marco Aurélio Yano's vibrant and exotic Oboe Concerto (1991) and Polish composer Pawel Sydor's dramatic "Virtuti Militari" (1992), a musical fable of individual heroism under social repression. Completing the program is a cornerstone of twentieth-century oboe repertoire, Bohuslav Martinu's 1955 Concerto: a thoroughly distinctive, neoclassical delight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Recent Oboe Works For One of Its Brilliant, January 9, 2006

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Twentieth Century Oboe Concertos (Audio CD)

Klein easily is one of the superb oboists of our time. Here he records the concertos of three modern composers, two of which were composed specifically for him in mind.

The first is of Czech descent, and the oldest of the trio having been composed in 1955. What strikes the listener is the inclusion of the piano as an accompanying soloist with the oboe, especiallly in the final two movements. As liner notes relate, extreme sense in this music of isolation. Outstanding oboe with its fast moving chromatic sections and the subtle, eiry power of that sustained tone in the final movement.

The Sydor piece came as a result of composer's education at Oberlin when Klein was teaching there, and so this was written for him emboldened by his native Poland in honor of the event which bears the piece's title. From composer's own liner notes we learn that it is battle between Poland societal elements with the oboe sounding individual common man seeking to save ideals. In this epic movement back and forth between soloist and orchestra there is some unique and evocative oboe sounds.

The third and final piece has become my favorite, with absorbing notes of the piece written by Klein. Yano of same Brazilian native land, was commissioned by Klein for this piece, but passed away from brain cancer in doing so, left to Yano's teacher and Klein to fill in. Magnificent lilty movement in the final.

Klein is heard here to be a clean, clear passionate artist on an extremely difficult instrument to play, but here evidenced as one of the best of our times playing this magnificent 20th C concertos.

Excellent choice to add to your listening enjoyment.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Even the virtuoso has his limits., December 19, 2008

By 

Richard Threadgall (University of Virginia, Charlottesville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twentieth Century Oboe Concertos (MP3 Download)

Despite my enthusiasm for Klein, unquestionably one of the great performers of our time, and despite the high quality of each of the three performances on a technical level on the part of both Klein himself and the Czech NSE, the recording as a whole was for the most part a disappointment.

The Martinu concerto is excellent, and if nothing else this CD is an admirable introduction to his work. Notably, the Klein of this recording is very different from the creamy, flexible recordings of the 80s and early 90s--his style has become much more rigid and abstract, hard-edged, you might say. However, the simple compositional quality of the remaining two compositions is very low. The Sydor piece is clattery and obnoxious, accompanied by some of the most pompous and adolescent program-writing I've ever seen--the struggle of "the common man fighting to save the last ideals from being dishonored" against "the Maggots"? What, is the composer channeling his inner highschool socialist? Really embarrassing stuff. Lastly, Yano's piece alternates between intellectually disorganized (post) modernism and disappointingly conventional tonal movements. The themes are catchy, but the treatment--especially compared to the great folk music-inspired symphonies that came out of England in the early years of this century (E. J. Moeran and Vaughan Williams especially come to mind)--is very flat, very superficial. Even Klein's mastery couldn't save this stuff.