Composition

Oboe Quartet

(1989) 17 min.

oboe, violin, viola, cello

Premiere

premiered January 27, 1989
Oddysey Chamber Players: Mark Hill, oboe; Marshall Coid, violin; Lois Martin, viola; Jeffrey Szabo, cello
Brooklyn Academy of Music

Audio

I Dialogues

II Intermezzo

III Scherzo

Notes

Oboe Quartet was commissioned by Mark Hill, and is in three movements. "Dialogues" refers on the surface to the obvious "conversation" between oboe and strings, but also to the interaction between highly charged, chromatic music and serene tonal-modal passages, with the high tension music winning out. "Intermezzo" is largely peaceful resolution of the tension of the first movement, with one surprisiungly intense climax. "Scherzo" is a light song and dance, with much of the energy of the first movement, but none of the tension