The oboe and viola d’arco are often associated with feelings of melancholy. The sound of the first is penetrating and somewhat nasalized. The other is darker and more velvety. But both are reminiscent of introspection and nostalgia. These are common ideas about these two instruments which, after all, are so different from each other. The thing is, especially when it comes to music, we never all agree, especially when it comes to assigning adjectives or risking associations. That’s why the Metropolitan Soloists invite everyone to take a listen for themselves. First, the oboe, with Clara Schumann’s Three Romances. Originally for violin and piano, these pieces explore the balance between cantabile melodies and technical virtuosity. Then there’s the viola, with a Sonata by Franz Schubert originally written for violin and arpeggione, an ancient guitar-like instrument played in the manner of the cello. It was later adapted for other formations, as here in a duo of viola and piano. Finally, the oboe and viola come together in a lesser-known work composed in 1872 by August Klughardt. Respectively based on five poems, they are short musical fantasies that sequentially illustrate romantic love, nightfall on a lake surrounded by reeds and willows, the restlessness of remembering the loved one, a storm and moonlight.
Romantic
Solistas da Metropolitana
C. Schumann Three Romances, Op. 22 (oboe and piano; original for violin and piano)
F. Schubert Sonata Arpeggione (transc. for viola and piano)
A. Klughardt Songs of the Reeds
Carla Pereira oboe
José Freitas viola
Dana Radu piano
