What types of musical character do we associate with the oboe? We imagine long, lyrical phrases, mournful, fragile melodies, agile musicianship, and a folk-like character....

What types of musical character do we associate with the oboe? We imagine long, lyrical phrases, mournful, fragile melodies, agile musicianship, and a folk-like character. During Viola Wilmsen’s time as principal oboist in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, it felt as if she “died a thousand deaths” every evening until the main character on stage had breathed its last breath and the sobbing oboe had sung its plaintive melody to the end. The 20th century produced a number for works for oboe and piano in which the woodwind instrument adopts an almost “furious” character, one that is not typically heard in most orchestral repertoire. On this new release, the artists would like to demonstrate the oboe’s variety of tone color and versatility. The main idea is centered on the oboe as a “singing voice” with its tremendous ability to phrase long cantilenas: hence, this program is closely associated with the human voice.