RICHARD STRAUSS

Richard Strauss, a composer, conductor of special talent and erudite, is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of Western European music. The styles of late romanticism, expressionism and neoclassicism interchanged in his musical language. Although the name of R. Strauss is inseparable from the masterpieces of orchestral music, his output also includes opuses of the concert genre. The Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D major is one of his last works. The idea to write the concerto was prompted by an accidental meeting with the famous American oboist John de Lancie. After the Second World War, Lancie was called up for military service and sent to the city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where the composer lived at the time. The musicians met there. Although R. Strauss initially categorically rejected Lancie’s proposal, he soon accepted the oboist’s idea as a creative challenge. The first sketches of the work appeared in September of 1945. The Concerto premiered on 26 February 1946 in Zurich (Switzerland), the solo part was performed by Marcel Saillet together with Tonhalle Orchester conducted by Volkmar Andreae. The oboe part requires special endurance and breath control. This is a real challenge even for a professional oboist. The orchestration of the work fascinates with subtlety, classical means of expression and transparency of form. The opus consists of three movements, performed without a break.

The technically complex solo part is performed by the young oboe virtuoso Pijus Paškevičius together with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by maestro Vilmantas Kaliūnas.