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Project Description
3 Caprices on themes by Richard Strauss
for solo oboe
- composition date: 2022
- duration: 9:00 min.
- dedication: For Joana Soares, an extraordinary oboist, with admiration and friendship.
- premiere: 20/November/2024 | Castelo Branco, CCCCB [Centro de Cultura Contemporânea de Castelo Branco] | Tiago Coimbra (Oboe)
The Three Caprices on themes by Richard Strauss (2022), for solo oboe, are the outcome of a commitment I assumed with the 1st InMusic Online Competition (2021) to write a work for the best woodwind player of the competition. By a happy coincidence, the winner was the oboist Joana Soares, an old friend, and my former student in the orchestra of the University of Aveiro. Joana has enjoyed a rising career, both in Portugal and abroad, and it is with affection that I recall a beautiful moment together onstage, when she played as soloist in the Concerto for Oboe by Richard Strauss, and I conducted the orchestra in the Closing Concert of the Aveiro Autumn Festivals 2018.
When reflecting on what to write for Joana, I concluded that Strauss was the musical link between us, since he is one of my composers of choice, and in Joana’s hands his Concerto is a unique experience that has already earned her many awards. Once the topic was decided, it was time to make this project a reality. I choose to write three short caprices for solo oboe, based on and developing iconic Straussian themes for the instrument. Hence, the inspiration for each of the caprices came from the following works by Strauss:
- Walzer (Waltzes): I took as my motto a theme introduced by the oboe, from one of the many waltzes that permeate Act 3 of the opera The Knight of the Rose (Der Rosenkavalier), a huge neoclassical pastiche by Strauss;
- Romanze (Romance): here I combined two delicate melodies presented by the oboe in the tone poems Don Quixote and Don Juan, both of which highlight the expressivity of the instrument in its most cantabile character;
- Lustig (Merry/Amusing): based on the last movement of the famous Concerto Strauss wrote for the instrument, this final caprice calls for great virtuosity from the oboist, in particular rhythmically wise, as I explore unconventional metric relationships through the use of irrational or non-dyadic time signatures, for instance.
The three caprices are structured in a classic fast–slow–fast triptych and explore the fusion between tradition and modernity. The tradition of Strauss, creator of some of the most unforgettable musical moments for the oboe, and my own modernity, as I rethink that music through the eyes of a 21st century inhabitant. All this in a spirit of historical and aesthetic creative dialogue, which I hope will be fruitful and attractive.
Note: given the similarities of register, the author authorizes the performance of this work also on the Soprano Saxophone.
buy sheet music:
https://editions-ava.com/compositor/luis-carvalho-1974/
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