The oboe was
Bruno Maderna's favorite instrument and he composed three concertos for it, along with several other works that prominently feature it. This 2006 CD from Col Legno presents all three concertos in vivid performances -- two of them live -- by oboist
Fabian Menzel and the
Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Michael Stern. The Concerto No. 1, for oboe and chamber ensemble (1962) is closest in method and style to the strict serialism
Maderna practiced in the 1950s, though the two later works, the Concerto No. 2 (1967) and the Concerto No. 3 (1973) seem less rigorously organized, admitting aleatoric operations and a more linear, even lyrical approach to the solo part. The prominent feature of these works, however, is not so much methodological or stylistic, but coloristic: the sonorities
Maderna created may well have been based in the serial procedures of the Darmstadt school, but his unique timbral combinations are remarkably fresh and brilliant, and their effectiveness seems due to his experience as a conductor, rather than as a theoretician. Also,
Maderna's use of the higher-pitched musette and the lower-pitched oboe d'amore in addition to the conventional oboe in the Concerto No. 2 reveals an alertness to color possibilities that bespeaks a lively imagination more than an analytical mindset. Recorded in the mid-'90s, the performances on this album are striking for the attention paid to distinctive instrumental sounds, since the orchestra frequently has chamber-like textures with extremely delicate effects. The best sound quality is provided for the Concerto No. 2, though the reproduction of the other concertos is quite good for their concert settings, with little extraneous noise.