BRUNO MADERNA (1920-1973): Concerto for Oboe and Chamber Ensemble No. 1, Concertos for Oboe and Orchestra, Nos. 2 & 3.

Description: Of the major figures of the mid-20th century European avant garde, a case could be made that Maderna's actual music, aside from historical 'importance' is the most likely to retain the strongest claim on the concert repertory. As in these concerti, in which a consistency of æsthetic is clearly audible alongside a marked development in style, Maderna's music refuses to sound dated. The oboe was important to Maderna - he wrote frequently for it - and one senses his pleasure in its quasi-vocal inflections and rich melodic potential. The works are all serial; the first emphasises the Darmstadt-pointillist approach, above which the soloist is an almost constant lyrical presence. The second expands the orchestral palette with richer tutti effects and a dynamic interplay between soloist and orchestra. The third, his last work, is a tapestry of shimmering color, with the balance between controlled aleatory and precisely notated sections of the score exquisitely crafted; again the predominant impression is of an unending melodic braid. Fabian Menzel (oboe), Saabrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra; Michael Stern.