Zwilich's Oboe Concerto

Synopsis

On today's date in 1991, the Cleveland Orchestra celebrated the 25th anniversary of its principal oboist, John Mack, with the premiere performance of a special commission: a new Concerto written for Mack by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

"For me," wrote Zwilich, "the concerto is an inherently dramatic situation with many analogies to the theater. For instance, a soloist -- or protagonist -- may have a cadenza -- or soliloquy -- in which to voice his or her essential nature . . . In the case of the oboe, it seems to me that a soloist's highest virtuosity is displayed in the way a phrase is shaped, in the variety of color and the shadings occurring in long melodic lines, in the intense viocal artistry of the finest solo player. So this concerto issues largely from the 'bel canto' spirit of the oboe."

But, getting back to her analogy of the concerto as a kind of mini-drama, Zwlich continues:

"The full development of a character requires a dialogue with other strong characters. An unusual feature of my Oboe Concerto is the use of the orchestral oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn to form a sort of 'close family' trio that interacts with the solo oboe throughout. My Concerto is dedicated, with affection, to John Mack, whose artistry inspired it."

The premiere recording of the work features John Mack and the Louisville Orchestra.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Oboe Concerto John Mack, oboe; Louisville Orchestra; James Sedares, cond. Koch 7278

On This Day

Births

• 1706 - American statesman, composer of string quartets, publisher and inventor of the glass harmonica Benjamin Franklin, in Boston (Gregorian date: Jan. 28);

• 1712 - English composer John Stanley (Gregorian date: Jan. 28);

• 1734 - Belgian composer François-Joseph Gossec, in Vergnies;

• 1907 - Dutch composer Henk Badings, in Bandung, Java;

• 1927 - American composer Donald Erb, in Youngstown, Ohio;

• 1934 - Canadian-born American composer, conductor and clarinetist Sydney Hodkinson, in Winnipeg, Manitoba;

Deaths

• 1738 - French composer and organist Jean François Dandrieu, age c. 56, in Paris;

• 1750 - Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni, age 78, in Venice;

• 1826 - Spanish composer Juan Crisostomo Arriaga, age 19, in Paris;

• 1869 - Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky, age 55, in St. Peterburg (Julian date: Jan. 5);

• 1969 - Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, age 55, in Warsaw;

Premieres

• 1880 - Franck: Piano Quintet in f, in Paris, by the Marsick Quartet, with Camille Saints-Saëns at the piano;

• 1901 - Mascagni: opera "Le Maschere" (The Masks), simultaneously in 6 cities;

• 1944 - Copland: Violin Sonata, at Times Hall in New York, by violinist Ruth Posselt with the composer at the piano;

• 1991 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Oboe Concerto, by soloist John Mack, with the Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting;

Others

• 1745 - Handel publishes a letter in the London ":Daily Advertiser" offering to return three-fourths money to the subscribers to his current series of concerts, then in progress, suggesting that his attempts to please the public have proved ineffectual; The letter prompts a flurry of support, and Handel resumes the concerts a week later; In all, 16 out of the promised 24 concerts would take place; The series closed on April 23, 1745, with a revival performance of ":Messiah." (Gregorian dates: Jan. 28 and May 4, respectively);

• 1919 - Polish composer and pianist Ignaz Jan Paderewski becomes premiere of Poland.