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Everything About the Oboe

By I. F. PoushechnikovHonored Artist of the Russian Federation

Professor of the Gnessines Russian Academy of Music

n March 29, 1999 at the Organ Hall of theGlinka State Museum of Musical Culturein Moscow an exciting evening ofpremieres took place. The celebrated

composer David I. Krivitsky presented hisworks in a concert entitled “Everything Aboutthe Oboe”. Is it possible to say everything aboutthe oboe in one concert? It is a really difficulttask. The oboe is a multifarious instrument,especially if you have in mind its kindredinstruments - oboe d’amore and English horn aswell. Some musicians think that the oboe timbreis rather monotonous and even boring. Luckilymusic lovers who attended Mr. Krivitsky’sconcert were convinced to the contrary.

The program content of the concert wasintense and varied. The composer presentedworks in which the oboe, in combination withother instruments, showed its different facets.The timbral color of the instruments, mergingand fusing together, or vice versa, coming intocontrast, introduced works that represent areally bright page of the modern musical life ofRussia. His original and highly emotional musicis constantly performed in Moscow, St.Petersburg, and abroad.

One of the main features of Mr. Krivitsky’soutput is his great interest in the brassinstruments.

His contribution to the oboe repertoire inRussia is really unique. Without anyexaggeration, it is possible to say that his oboeworks are a genuine qualitative step forward,unprecedented in the history of Russian music.His works for oboe include:

Two pieces for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, andbassoon (1970)

Concerto Music No. 1 for oboe, string quintet,cembalo, and percussion (1980)

Double Concerto for English horn, piccolotrumpet, and strings (1989)

Nonette-Symphony No. 2 for flute, oboe,English horn, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and piano(1989)

Also in 1989 he composed Ave Maria forsoprano, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet,bassoon, horn, and piano.

Concerto Epilogue - poem for flute, oboe,clarinet, horn, bassoon, and piano (1990)

Andante con tristezza for oboe and viola(1984)

Six sonatas for oboe solo (1984)Serenade for oboe, two violins and cello

(1995)Concert Music No. 2 for oboe and piano (1997)Christmas on the Temple Ruins for violin,

oboe, and horn (1997)“If pardon me.....” Canonic fantasy for oboe

and soprano (based on A. S. Pushkin’s poems)(1997)

Terzetto No. 8 for flute, oboe, and viola (1998)Theme and Seven Variations for oboe and

piano (1999)For the March 29 concert, Mr. Krivitsky

chose his most recent pieces for oboe. Theconcert opened with Concert Music No. 11 forOboe and Piano (or Organ) written in 1998 anddedicated to this writer. This is a one-movement piece containing ideas for a four-movement cycle. The piece was brilliantlyperformed by Sergei Lysenko, soloist of theBolshoi Theatre Orchestra and prize winner of anational competition, and by Eugenia Krivitskiawho played the organ part. Suave and fullsounding in lyric and romantic episodes, avirtuoso interpretation of the composer’sconcept in freely improvised cadenzas, assuredleaps to maximum high and low pitches,untraditional ways of sound production -everything was impeccably performed. SergeiLysenko showed the highest professionalism,outstanding ability, and deep penetration intothis demanding work.

The Sonata for English horn was written in1997. It was the first work of this kind in thenational culture. This purely orchestralinstrument is very often put back in secondaryroles, but here the English horn comes forwardto the concert stage. The sonata was played byVladislav Komissarchuck, soloist of the BolshoiTheatre Orchestra. Despite his youth, Mr.Komissarchuck showed himself to be a maturemusician, successfully overcoming interpretivedifficulties, and displayed a beautiful Englishhorn tone in all its richness; he alsodemonstrated his understanding of the modernmusical idiom.

The first part of the concert was completed

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with the Canonical Sonata for flute and oboe of1997. The musicians who performed this workbelong to the most brilliant and experienced.Vladimir Koudrya, flutist, prize winner of manyinternational competitions, and VladimirTambovtsev, oboe soloist of the NationalSymphony of Russia, showed outstandingplaying and a perfect feeling of ensemble, aswell as a fresh and convincing interpretation ofa most difficult work.

The second part of the concert was openedwith the Terzetto No. 1 for two oboes and Englishhorn of 1998. Such a trio became a classicalcombination even at the end of the 18thcentury. On December 23, 1872, a triocomposed by Wenth was performed in Vienna;Beethoven was in attendance at that concert.Inspired by the performance, Beethoven wenton to write two trios for oboes and English hornthat are still very popular and often performed.Mr. Krivitsky’s Terzetto is a 3-movementcomposition depicting the whole panorama ofhuman existence. It was played by the BolshoiTheatre Orchestra soloists - Sergei Lysenko,Evgeny Ivanov (prize winner of the All-RussianCompetition), and Leonid Kondakov. Theirperformance was characterized by a harmonyand coordination of vertical constructions, abright emotional charge of solo episodes, and arich palette of dynamic and timbral colors. Themusicians began working together more than ayear ago. They have proven themselves to bethoughtful and subtle interpreters of classicalmusic. However, playing Mr. Krivitsky’sTerzetto, they convinced the audience thatultra-modern music, bordering on the 21stcentury, is also an integral part of their artisticcredo. Special mention should be made of thefact the trio ensemble included a teacher,professor at the Gnessines Russian Academy ofMusic, Leonid Kondakov, and his very talentedstudent, the young oboist Evgeny Ivanov.

The National Symphony of Russia wasrepresented at the concert by another solooboist, Petr Fedkov, who together with a violistfrom Venezuela, Ms. Marbic Urbino, performedAndante con tristezza for oboe and viola,composed in 1994. This piece is dedicated tothe memory of the composer’s mother. Thelines “Light is my sorrow....” could serve as anepigraph to this composition. The twoinstruments, very different in their timbre,fused and merged in this piece, creating anunprecedented acoustic effect. The performerstactfully and gently interpreted this romanticmood of this work.

The Canonical Sonata for oboe d’amore andEnglish horn “Hommage a Telemann” (1999)captured the audience’s interest in a specialway. Mr. Krivitsky’s innovation is revealed notonly in the search for new forms and concepts,as well as in the use of instruments almostcompletely vanished from usual concertpractice. As it often happens, the new turns outto be the well-forgotten. The oboe d’amore hasa unique coloratura mezzo-soprano with awonderful range, and great technicalpossibilities. Besides it combines marvelouslywith the sound of the English horn, creatingsort of a “super oboe”. This 4-movementcomposition has two more innovations. In thethird movement (Interlude) the musicianschange their instruments for a nightingale and acuckoo, which were used by Telemann in hisworks.

In the sonata’s finale, the picturesqueinterlude of the cuckoo is reprised; in thebackground of the oboe d’amore’s virtuosityanother cuckoo appears, philosophicallymeasuring off the days of our lives. The sonatarequires a wide arsenal of modern performancetechniques. The Bolshoi soloists, SergeiLysenko (oboe d’amore) and Leonid Kondakov(English horn) have brilliantly coped with thechallenges posed by the composer. Theymasterfully played multiphonics and chords.This composition is dedicated to theseperformers.

To conclude the concert, a monumentalSeptet for Six Oboes and Two English Horns wasperformed. The part of the second English hornis combined with the part of the 6th oboe. TheSeptet is dedicated to the famous conductorMarc Ermler. Its title “Sub Rosa” takes itsmeaning from ancient Roman history. When theowner of a house where important events tookplace hung a rose under the ceiling it wasunderstood that everything that had been saidthere would be kept secret. The title of the workpredetermines the manner of its performance inwhich the dynamic complex is strictlydifferentiated. It includes nuances, subito risesand falls, cantilena melodies, trill clusters, etc.This creates a mysterious, enigmatic feeling,that together with the vocalism and beauty ofthe themes, makes the most important featureof this work. The Septet was played by theBolshoi soloists and other musicians: SergeiLysenko, Alexandr Krylov, Evgeny Ivanov,Nikoley Zhemchouzhin, Ivan Paisov, VladislavKomissarchuk, and Leonid Kondakov. Theensemble was conducted by Vladimir Koudrya.

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Besides pieces for oboe and its relatedinstruments, a cycle of organ compositionsentitled Nostradamus’ Mysteries was performed.The titles of the movements: “About the Past”,“About the Present”, and “About the Future”(this last piece is composed for four hands),predetermine the imaginative form of theselaconic miniatures. The pieces were performedat random as interludes in order to emphasizedramaturgically the timbres of the oboe family.The gifted organist Ms. Eugenia Krivitskaia whoperformed the pieces deserves every praise.Having superb technique, possessing all thesecrets of her instrument, she temperamentallyand passionately plumbs the deep philosophiccontents in the compositions of her father. Thepiece About the Future for organ four hands wasinterpreted in a bright, emotionally impressiveand impeccable manner in ensemble with Ms.Marianna Vysotskaya.

This concert without doubt has been a greatsuccess. Mr. Krivitsky’s music stirs passionsand emotions both in the performers and in thelisteners. The success of the concert wasguaranteed by the performers who reallybelong to the musical elite of Russia. Almost thewhole oboe section of the celebrated BolshoiTheatre Orchestra and the two soloists from

the National Symphony of Russia took part inthe concert. It is very rare these days to gettogether in one concert so many wonderfulwind musicians. It is especially pleasant for meto know that of the nine oboe players whoparticipated in this concert, eight of themgraduated from the Gnessines Russian Academyof Music. After the concert, the composer,highly pleased and emotionally moved to tears,expressed his gratitude to me with these words:“Thank you for ‘Everything about the Oboe’,thank you for your marvelous students”. Thisconcert has already become a part of history.There is no doubt that this oboe feast willbecome an important landmark in the history ofwind performance in this country. Mr.Krivitsky’s works will become classics and willoccupy a worthy place in the pedagogic andconcert repertoire of oboists.

One of the listeners remarked to me as heleft the concert “I wish I could be the sound ofone of the passages performed at this concert; Iwould then fly under the firmament of theSupreme Liberty and would surely leave in thepeople’s hearts a little bit of goodness, a tinyshaft of idealism, and would ignite a spark ofhope. In other words I would leave what thisconcert has left in the listeners’ hearts.” ❖