Divertimento for Oboe and Piano

Oboe and Piano, 4m15s

 

The Divertimento’s continuously varied themes are set in a bright but harmonically rich and often surprising quasi-tonal language.  The rhythmic style is unpredictable yet feels ‘natural’ throughout.  After a concert of new music, one audience member known to be a fan of modern composition remarked to me, “At the end of the night, it was [this piece] that I found myself wanting to hear again.”

It also happens to make a great show piece for the intermediate oboe student.  The extremes of the instrument’s range are reached, but briefly, and are safely approached, while the fourths-and-seconds melodic language eases the student into chromatic playing.  An even control of rhythm must be maintained to play the syncopations in time with the accompaniment.  (The piano part is not difficult but some moments may seem unusual to an accompanist accustomed to classical and romantic era repertoire.)