Search MusicWeb Here Custom Search selling Internationally

aBantock 4CDs £16 post-free   2CDs £9 post-free New! CRD £9 post-free

Searching The Site Monthly index Recordings of the Year Label index Masterwork index Series index Search engines Review Archive Classical Downloads Jazz Concerts Nostalgia Books Film music Resources Composer pages National discographies Piano trio survey Online books Arthur Butterworth's columns Philip Scowcroft's British light music collection Interviews Programme notes Other material Articles Seen & Heard Jazz reviews Message Board Announcements About Us About Us Contact Us Contributors What they say about us Visitor stats Site Map

Founder: Len Mullenger

Editor-in-Chief: Rob Barnett

AVAILABILITY Brilliant Classics

The Romantic Oboe CD1 Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Songs played by oboe and piano Le lever de la lune [4:38] La feuille de peuplier [1:43] Tristess [2:27] La Mort d’Ophélie [3:03] Aimons-nous [4:39] L’attente [2:01] Au cimitière [2:51] Chanson triste [2:33] La cloche [5:13] L’enlèvement [2:20] Extase [4:26] Peut-être [1:33] Pourquoi rester seulette [1:40] La sérénité [3:21] Le rossignol [2:45] Plainte [3:35] Sonata for oboe and piano, op.166 Bart Schneemann (oboe), Paolo Giacometti (piano) CD2 Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Oboe Concerto in C major K.314 Bart Schneemann (oboe), Amsteerdam Sinfonietta/Lev Markiz Ludwig August LEBRUN (1752-1790) Oboe Concerto in C major Lajos Lencsés (oboe), Kammerorchester Mannheim/WolfganHoffmann Vicenzo BELLINI (1801-1835) Oboe Concerto in E flat major Francesco Quarantar (oboe), Konzertensemble Salzburg/Alberto Veronese Antonio ROSETTI (1750-1792) Oboe Concerto in D major Burkhardt Glaetzner, oboe, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie/Romely Pfund Alessandro MARCELLO (1669-1747) Oboe Concerto in D minor Robin Williams (oboe), Heidelberger Kammerorchester Recorded at Hervormde Kerk Rhoom, 1997 (CD1). No details for CD2 BRILLIANT CLASSICS 92449 [60:04 + 77:09]

This is a very strange issue, not least because of its title ‘The Romantic Oboe’. The first CD does come into that category, consisting as it does of music by Camille Saint-Saëns. CD2, however, is given up to Classical and Baroque composers. My copy came without any notes, and there are recording details (and skimpy ones at that) only for CD1. All very mysterious! Then there’s the music on CD1; Saint-Saëns’ Oboe Sonata, with which it ends, is a most attractive piece when played well, and a staple of the solo oboe repertoire. But what can I say about the sequence of sixteen songs that precede it? Some of them are lovely in themselves, and are rightly celebrated. But as played by Schneemann, I found them a dispiriting experience, for he displays little variety or sense of involvement, so that the lyrical, vocal appeal has been almost entirely lost. I found the fat, sleek tone rather off-putting, too, and had to listen for a little while to be sure it wasn’t a cor anglais. The sonata is much better, and Schneemann turns in a passable performance of the Mozart Concerto on CD2; but this is still pretty dull stuff. The Lebrun Concerto is stilted and predictable, serving only to emphasise what a fine work the Mozart is (even though the composer isn’t really on top form here). Bellini’s early concerto, on the other hand, has a particularly jolly final Rondo, though Quarantar’s performance is pedestrian, and the instrumental accompaniment plods along. Rather more interesting playing comes from Burckhardt Glaetzner in the attractive D major work by Antonio Rosetti (Bohemian despite the Italianate name). The orchestral music is played with real stylistic flair by Pfund and his ensemble, and Glaetzner plays with affection (though he is a little accident-prone, and also sometimes a bit flat). Robin Williams turns in a rather charmless performance of the lovely Marcello D minor, with sudden bursts of rather alarmingly fast double tonguing, which sounds like a bit of a circus trick, without real musical or stylistic justification. Not very nice. Sometimes, these cheap and cheerful compilations can turn out to be worth the very low outlay for just one high-class track or item; not so here, I’m afraid. The whole thing smacks of the cutting-room floor. Gwyn Parry-Jones Gerard Hoffnung CDs Advertising on Musicweb Donate and get a free CD New Releases Musicweb sells the following labels Acte Préalable Altus Arcodiva Atoll CDAccord CRD Hallé Hortus Lyrita Nimbus Nimbus Alliance Prima voce Red Priest Redcliffe Retrospective Saydisc Sheva Sterling Toccata Classics Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to our free weekly review listing sample Sample: See what you will get Editorial Board MusicWeb International Editor in Chief    Rob Barnett Seen & Heard Editor Emeritus    Bill Kenny Editor in Chief    Vacant MusicWeb Webmaster    David Barker MusicWeb Founder    Len Mullenger

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.