At first glance, this album looks to be promising because of its program: works by Robert and Clara Schumann written for or transcribed for oboe. It includes one of the begins with one of the greatest works ever written for oboe, Robert Schumann's Drei Romanzen, Op. 94, those lovely, short pieces that could be songs. Also here are the related Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, originally for clarinet, and Adagio und Allegro, Op. 70, for horn, plus three similarly toned excerpts from the Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102, originally for cello. Clara Schumann's Drei Romanzen, Op. 22, are essentially warm, sweet songs without words for violin and piano. It's one of just two chamber music works she wrote and well worth investigating for anyone who appreciates Robert Schumann's music or Romantic rarities.
However, the oboe playing isn't quite up to the standards of the music. Joris van den Hauwe has an uneven tone that isn't as warm and sweet as the music. There's little variation in dynamics, and he doesn't round his phrasing very well. The sound distracts from the music and from anything his accompanist Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden is doing. Naturally, the oboe is picked up quite well in the recording, although the album has a very dry sound, which adds to the unappealing nature of the oboe. This music of the Schumanns is definitely worth hearing, but not in this way.