oboEMOTIONS
These video performances introduce the wide emotional range of recent American music for the oboe. They are also my personal attempt to express these emotions through greater physical freedom. All music making is a balance of discipline and freedom. I hope you enjoy these performances! If you are an oboe player, please consider expanding your repertoire and performing these works–ordering information and biographies of the composers are listed below.
Summer Suite by David Ward-Steinman
The four movements of Summer Suite are at turns lyrical, jazzy, angry, and finally, contemplative.
Two Trifles and a Wedding Present by Philip Orem
Orem’s work features jaunty rhythms and Sondheim-like phrases, interspersed with humor.
Quintet for Oboe and Strings by Daron Hagen
The first movement of Hagen’s Quintet confronts death (do you hear the Dies Irae theme?), the second is a loving tribute to the mystery of birth, and the last is a lively celebration, with catchy rhythms and a wink to Prokofiev.
Shoreline for oboe, viola and harp by Cynthia Wong
Cynthia Wong’s mesmerizing sounds with viola and harp tell the story of Musiline, half-human and half-mermaid, dreaming of a love never realized.
Aria Hebraique by Leon Stein
Aria Hebraique recalls the deep interior world of a Kol Nidrei chant.
Koke No Niwa for English horn, harp and percussion by Alan Hovhaness
“A garden of sounds and silences,” this video features photos of the moss gardens of Kyoto which inspired the music.
Twelve Quatrains from the Rubaiyat by Dorothy Rudd Moore
For oboe and mezzo-soprano, with Anna Caplan from a 2022 live performance.
Gymnopedie, from Suite by Viet Cuong
Movement 2: “Freely” from Three Ditties by Philip Orem
Bonus Videos:
Tribute to composer William Grant Still, featuring music by Sierra Winds. My recording of “Incantation and Dance” was the first professionally released recording of this masterpiece by any oboe player.
Incantation and Dance by William Grant Still
Biographies of Composers
Bio of David Ward-Steinman: http://ward-steinman.weebly.com/
Bio of Daron Hagen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daron_Hagen
Bio of Leon Stein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Stein
Bio of Philip Orem: https://po4musik.wixsite.com/website
Bio of Alan Hovhaness: http://www.hovhaness.com/Biography.html
Bio of Cynthia Wong: http://cynthialeewong.com/biography/
Bio of Dorothy Rudd Moore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Rudd_Moore
Bio of Viet Cuong: https://vietcuongmusic.com/about/https://vietcuongmusic.com/about/
Bio of William Grant Still: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Grant_Still
Many more performances can be found on my YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@doublereeddr