The Oboe Concerto in
E-flat major is an
oboe concerto
A number of concertos (as well as non-concerto works) have been written for the oboe, both as a solo instrument as well as in conjunction with other solo instrument(s), and accompanied by string orchestra, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, concert ...
by
Vincenzo Bellini, most likely composed in 1823.
Bellini's only surviving concerto, the piece is also an important part of his limited instrumental output.
Performances typically last between seven and eight minutes.
Background
In 1819, at the age of eighteen, Bellini received a scholarship to the
Conservatorio di San Sebastiano in
Naples. He composed the Oboe Concerto during his studies.
''
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 ...
'' called the piece "a product of his youth".
Some other works composed by Bellini during the period included
sacred music and fifteen symphonies (six of which are lost). In addition, fragments exist for two other concertos for
woodwind instruments composed around the time: a
bassoon concerto
A bassoon concerto is a concerto for bassoon accompanied by a musical ensemble, typically orchestra. Like bassoon sonatas, bassoon concerti were relatively uncommon until the twentieth century, although there are quite a few bassoon concerti from ...
in
G major that remains incomplete and a draft for a
flute concerto in
A major
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
.
Structure and analysis
The work is scored for solo oboe and an orchestra consisting of two
flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two
bassoons
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...
, two
French horns
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
, and strings. It is in one movement with three distinct sections:
*I. ''Risoluto allegro''
*II. ''Larghetto cantabile''
*III. ''Allegro polonese''
The piece is a concerto "all'italiana", a relatively new form in Bellini's time, which consists of an introduction, a slow section, and an Allegro.
The first section, marked ''Risoluto allegro'', is only nine bars long and in the key of
G major. It does not develop any melodic material in the rest of the piece, and it consists of a chord progression that makes heavy use of
chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...
intervals.
Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...
referred to it as "the shortest of dramatic introductions".
Charles-David Lehrer opined that the concerto "deleted the first movement structure", in contrast to previous concerti for the oboe.
Lehrer also stated that most pieces without an extensive first movement were labeled as
concertinos.
The second section, ''Larghetto Cantabile'', marks the first entrance of the oboe and transitions to E-flat major, a major third down from the previous key of G major. In this section, the oboe soloist has several short
cadenzas
In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and ofte ...
, expressive melodies, and
fermata notes. The section can be divided into three subsections.
Hyperion Records called the oboe part in the section "aria-like", stating that it was typical of the
bel canto
Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing.
The phrase was not associat ...
style that was to influence
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
.
The third and final section, a
polonaise marked ''Allegro'', is the largest section of the piece and changes the time signature to 3/4.
The section shows a greater amount of interaction between the solo and orchestral parts, as there is frequent imitation and trading off of the main theme.
One compiler and publisher of Bellini's music called the section a
rondo in the structure "ABACABX"; he also wrote that "the orchestra connects the different episodes by short riffs
€¦and replies once the main theme."
[A. Chegai (edited by), Vincenzo Bellini Composizioni strumentali, vol. XV, Ricordi, Milano, 2008.] Lehrer noted this third section as part of the common trend towards polonaises in rondo format as final movements of Romantic oboe concerti, listing it with works by
Carl Maria von Weber,
Stanislaus Verroust, and
Georges Guilhaud.
Reception
![Nicola Antonio Zingarelli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Nicola_Antonio_Zingarelli.jpg)
The concerto has often been noted for its operatic qualities and the usage of bel canto themes in the solo oboe part. Valeria Lucentini, in an introduction to an edition of the piece, wrote, "Bellini devolves the lively and intense expressiveness of vocal music to the cantabile. As a result, Bellini places particular emphasis on the solo instrument, in effect giving it the same attention as the human voice."
She also stated that this characteristic was possibly influenced by some of the wordless songs composed by Bellini's teacher,
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli.
Program notes for a
United States Military Academy concert wrote that "The lyrical writing in the concerto is so indicative of Bellini's style that one could easily believe it to belong to one of Bellini's operas, and yet the work is still thoroughly idiomatic to the oboe."
Hyperion Records opined that "Bellini's juxtaposition of lyrical and more rigorous passages gives the little work an expertly managed inner balance."
''
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 ...
'' referred to the concerto as one that "extends the past rather than smooths the passage to the twentieth-century revival of the form," contrasting it with
Domenico Cimarosa's constructed oboe concerto by
Arthur Benjamin as an example of a 20th-century 'revival' of a work that was not originally made.
References
{{Portalbar, Classical Music
Compositions by Vincenzo Bellini
Bellini
Bellini is an Italian name, Italian surname, formed as a patronymic or plural form of Bellino (surname), Bellino.
People
*Family of Italian painters:
**Jacopo Bellini (c. 1396–c. 1470), father of Gentile and Giovanni
**Gentile Bellini (c. 1429†...
Compositions in E-flat major
1823 compositions