Strauss Oboe Concerto

Richard Strauss' Concerto is arguably the most significant work in the oboe repertoire. Unfortunately, the opportunities to actually perform this piece in its original version with orchestra are rare. For the last seventy years, the only alternative, was to play with the piano reduction, which is fine for an exam but not especially convincing for the concert stage.

That is why I am thrilled to offer this arranged version where the soloist is accompanied by a string quintet, clarinet in B flat, cor anglais and bassoon. It can be performed both with and without conductor and comes much closer to the expression and sonority we love about the orchestral manuscript.

Satoki Aoyama (principal oboist of the NHK Orchestra, Tokyo) is helping me to correct any remaining mistakes to make the score as coherent with the original orchestral manuscript as possible. Mr. Aoyama has published his own Urtext edition in Japan and I am grateful to have the help of his expertise.

The original slurs notated by Strauss for the string stection are in part unplayable and often inconvenient. Orchestras have always modified them in the rehearsals which is why I have decided to change them already in before hand. Luckily, Nadia Ettinger, who is an outstanding violinist and experienced orchestral player has revised all the slurs in the string section in a way that they best represent Strauss’ musical ideas while still being convenient and coordinated between all parts.

I also take great care with the layout in order to make the page turns as convenient as possible.

The set includes all foreseen parts as well as the conductor’s score.

For the moment, shipment is only possible to the EU, Canada, Japan and all other countries where Strauss' works are already in public domain.