Heinz Holliger Edition: Albinoni, Vivaldi, Telemann, Haydn, Mozart, Cimarosa, Hummel, Honegger, Martin, Martinu

The artistry of Holliger (b1939) prompted Evelyn Rothwell (Lady Barbirolli) to call him 'The Paganini of the oboe' Holliger's mastery of the oboe ranges over a vast expanse of repertoire, from the baroque to contemporary – Bach to Berio and Zelenka to Zimmermann. His style is notable for its flexibility, agility, integrity and ability to communicate convincingly across the wide range of repertoire he performs. Holliger has done much to champion the oboe music of composers such as Zelenka and Krommer, and has also had over 100 works composed for him by composers including Berio, Carter, Henze, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Penderecki and Stockhausen.

This 10CD collection provides a superb showcase for his artistry, spanning nearly 250 years of repertoire from the well known to the obscure, and to every one of the works here his unique and phenomenal technique to makes the interpretation sound effortless and flawless.

- Extensive booklet notes on each work, and a biographical essay on Holliger
- 'This is an enchanting performance: I do not believe that among modern recordings there is a better' Gramophone, November 1985 (Mozart Oboe Quartet)
- 'All three pieces have the advantage of superlative performances by Holliger and the ECO. As in the case of Fiala, not just an oboe-player: Holliger also contributes cadenzas where called for that are exactly right for their purpose. A good quality of recording' Gramophone October 1985 (Fiala, Hummel etc)

R E V I E W:

Listening to solo woodwind instrument is in many ways similar to listening to the human voice. We can listen for pure beauty of tone if we wish but this on its own rapidly becomes dull unless there is also some individuality of phrasing and line. Only then can real musical communication take place with the listener. I have heard too many players (and singers) with enviable tone and technique whose performances nonetheless are essentially a nullity when it comes to communication. There have been however a number of great oboists in whose hands the instrument speaks with astonishing eloquence. For me one of the greatest is Heinz Holliger, whose tone and technique are beyond praise but whose greatest asset is his ability to characterise the music he plays and thereby to communicate directly with the listener.

Heinz Holliger was born in 1939 in Langenthal in Switzerland. As well as oboe, he studied piano and composition (with Boulez) although he is unfortunately not represented in this set as a composer. Also absent are any of the major compositions he has inspired from others which utilise his ability to make use of “extended techniques” on the oboe. What Brilliant have done is simply to put together a series of his recordings from 1966 to 1991 of more conventional oboe music. These range from Albinoni and Vivaldi to Martinu and Honegger. In no way does it give a balanced view of the oboe repertoire but it does include many real gems.

To start with the best. In the two discs devoted to the music of Mozart the phrasing, the interaction between players and the sheer joy in the music are all near ideal. Seldom since the wonderful Leon Goossens version has a performance of the Oboe Quartet had quite as much sheer wit and character. The Sinfonia Concertante for wind is included in the reconstruction by Robert Levin for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon rather than in the version usually played today for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. The former is much more effective, especially as played here. The Divertimento K251 is a rare pleasure, but is also exceptionally enjoyable, especially when played with solo strings as it is here.

Discs 6 and 9 include - as well as the rather dull Concerto attributed to Haydn - a series of shorter works by such composers as Donizetti, Bellini, Moscheles and Hummel. These are essentially display pieces but are played here with a real understanding of their similarity to the vocal music of the period and of the opportunities this gives to the soloist to show off every possible bel canto effect. These discs also include an interesting Konzertstück by Julius Rietz, Sullivan’s composition teacher in Leipzig, and a Concerto by Josef Fiala which once again suggests that he was one of the dullest composers of the period. Arthur Benjamin’s wonderfully adept Concerto based on music by Cimarosa is given a particularly magical performance.

The last disc is devoted to music of the mid-twentieth century – Martin, Honegger and Martinu. This is full of surprisingly varied delights, although I could not help regretting the absence of by far the greatest oboe Concerto of that period, that of Richard Strauss. Holliger certainly recorded it and it would have fitted in well here.

The first five discs are devoted to music of the eighteenth century, one each for Vivaldi and Telemann and three for Albinoni. The Telemann disc is the real winner here - each of the five Concertos (four of them in minor keys) full of invention and played with real imagination and passion. The Vivaldi is also worth hearing, especially the double Concerto with bassoon (Klaus Thunemann) although I Musici, now in the context of modern period instrument groups, seem to play dully, heavily and without any especial insight. This is even more marked on the Albinoni discs which I found frankly dull. Worse still four of the Op. 7 Concertos are for strings alone, meaning that there is not even Holliger’s artistry to keep the listener’s interest alive. Whilst these discs might do for background listening I found it increasingly hard to pay real detailed attention to them.

Despite this, there is more than enough here to make this an unmissable bargain overall. As if the musical content were not enough, Brilliant have provided a 19 page essay by Susan Wynne Roberts and Ates Orga which gives admirable notes on the soloist and the music – a model of how such reissues should be presented. Taken as a whole this is a worthy tribute to a great oboist who is – above all – a great musician.

– John Sheppard, MusicWeb International

Performer:
Heinz Holliger, oboe
I Musici
Academy of St Martin in the Fields / Sir Neville Marriner
Orlando Quartet
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Frankfurt / Eliahu Inbal
English Chamber Orchestra / Raymond Leppard

Tracklist:
CD 1: Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concertos for Oboe, Strings & Basso Continuo
01-03. Concerto in C major RV452
04-06. Concerto in D minor RV454
07-09. Concerto in G major RV545 for oboe, bassoon & strings
10-12. Concerto in C major RV446
13-15. Concerto in A minor RV463
16-18. Concerto in C major RV447
CD 2: Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
01-04. Concerto in E minor
05-08. Concerto in D minor
09-12. Concerto in C minor
13-15. Concerto in F minor
16-19. Concerto in D major
CD 3: Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
01-03. Concerto No.1, Op.7 in D major for strings and continuo
04-06. Concerto No.2, Op.7 in C major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
07-09. Concerto No.3, Op.7 in B flat major for oboe, strings and continuo
10-12. Concerto No.4, Op.7 in G major for strings and continuo
13-15. Concerto No.5, Op.7 in C major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
16-18. Concerto No.6, Op.7 in D major for oboe, strings and continuo
19-21. Concerto No.7, Op.7 in A major for strings and continuo
22-24. Concerto No.8, Op.7 in D major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
CD 4: Tomaso Albinoni
01-03. Concerto No.9, Op.7 in F major for oboe, strings and continuo
04-06. Concerto No.10, Op.7 in B flat major for strings and continuo
07-09. Concerto No.11, Op.7 in C major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
10-12. Concerto No.12, Op.7 in C major for oboe, strings and continuo
13-16. Sonata a cinque in G minor, Op.2 No.6
17-20. Sonata a cinque in D major, Op.2 No.5
CD 5: Tomaso Albinoni
01-03. Concerto No.2 in D Minor for oboe, strings and continuo
04-06. Concerto No.3 in F major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
07-09. Concerto No.5 in C major for oboe, strings and continuo
10-12. Concerto No.8 in G minor for oboe, strings and continuo
13-15. Concerto No.9 in C major for 2 oboes, strings and continuo
16-18. Concerto No.11 in B flat major for oboe, strings and continuo
CD 6: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
01-03. Oboe Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIg: C1
Arthur Benjamin (1893-1960)
04-07. Oboe Concerto in C minor on themes of Domenico Cimarosa
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
08. Concertino for cor anglais and orchestra
09. Andante sostenuto in F minor for oboe & harp
CD 7: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
01-03. Quartet in F major for oboe, violin, viola & cello, K370
04. Adagio in C major for cor anglais, 2 violins and cello, K580a
05-14. Divertimento No.11 in D major, K251 'Nannerl-Septett'
CD 8: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
01-03. Sinfonia concertante in E flat major, K297b
04-06. Oboe Concerto in C major, K314
CD 9: Vincenzo Bellini (1732-1809)
01-02. Oboe Concerto in E flat major
Bernhard Molique (1802-1869)
03. Oboe Concertino in G minor
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
04-05. Concertante in F major for flute, oboe & orchestra
Julius Rietz (1812-1877)
06. Konzertstück in F minor for oboe & orchestra
Josef Fiala (1748-1816)
07-09. Concerto in E flat major for cor anglais & orchestra
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)
10. Adagio, theme & variations in F minor for oboe & orchestra
CD 10: Frank Martin (1890-1974)
01-03. Trois danses for oboe, harp, string quintet & orchestra
04. Petite complainte for oboe and piano
05. Pièce brève for flute, oboe & harp
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
06-08. Concerto da camera for flute, cor anglais & string orchestra
09. Petite suite for flute, cor anglais & piano
10. Antigone for oboe, cor anglais & harp
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
11-13. Oboe concerto