The Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Chamber Orchestra is a

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

by the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. It was commissioned by the conductor Paul Sacher for the oboist Heinz Holliger and harpist

Ursula Holliger Ursula Holliger, ''née'' Hänggi, (8 June 1937 – 21 January 2014) was a Swiss harpist, known for her commitment to contemporary music. Career Born in Basel, Holliger studied at the Basel Academy and then at the Conservatoire de Bruxelles. Sh ...

, Heinz's wife. The work was composed between 1979 and 1980 and was first performed by Heinz and Ursula Holliger and the Collegium Musicum Zürich under the direction of Sacher in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

on August 24, 1980. The piece is dedicated to Sacher.

Composition

In the score's programme note, Lutosławski wrote that the prospect of work with the Heinz and Ursula Holliger was "a great inspiration" while working on the concerto. He added, "The music is multi-faceted and just when it seems to be saying one thing, it is saying something else at the same time – sometimes in contradiction. The titles of the movements ..are only to be taken figuratively." The work is scored for solo oboe and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

and a reduced orchestra consisting of only two percussionists and strings. It has a duration of approximately 20 minutes and is cast in three movements: #Rapsodico #Dolente #Marciale e grotesco

Reception

Writing for the magazine ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'', the music critic Arnold Whittall opined, "The Double Concerto which Lutosawski composed for Heinz and Ursula Holliger is a fine example of his ability to use immediately accessible materials in imaginative and far from conventional ways, and there are few better instances of genuine comedy in 20th-century music than the concerto's finale, which perfectly complements the dirge-like atmosphere of the middle movement."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Double Concerto (Lutoslawski) Concertos by Witold Lutosławski 1980 compositions Concertos for multiple instruments Compositions for chamber orchestra Music commissioned by Paul Sacher

Composition

Reception

See also

References