Oboe-festival

Originally derived from Latin, the word “festival” means celebration. This oboe festival certainly has much to celebrate, as its program features a selection of outstanding works by Hungarian composers.

The concert opens with Ferenc Farkas’s Oboe Quartet, originally conceived as a sonata for violin and piano. The string quartet arrangement of the piano part is my own idea.

Péter Tóth’s Post scriptum masterfully showcases the remarkable richness of the English horn, further expanding the otherwise modest repertoire of the instrument.

Antal Doráti—known primarily as a distinguished conductor—was a composition student of Zoltán Kodály and wrote numerous works for the oboe, partly inspired by his friendship with Heinz Holliger. His compositions reflect a wide-ranging artistic curiosity, as demonstrated by the Miniatures performed here.

Charles Koechlin’s Vocalise will also be heard. Of particular Hungarian relevance is the fact that on April 28, 1910, Koechlin, together with Maurice Ravel, invited Zoltán Kodály to Paris, where Kodály’s Op. 11 piano pieces were performed by Béla Bartók.

Miklós Rózsa, world-renowned for his Hollywood film scores, also composed remarkable “absolute music,” including his brilliant Sonata for Solo Oboe.

The program concludes with Zoltán Kodály’s exquisite Epigrams, dedicated to “the better musicians of a better future” and intended to be performed on any instrument.

— Lajos Lencsés

Programme:

Ferenc Farkas: Sonatina
András Winklár – oboe; Ars Artis Ensemble

Péter Tóth: Post scriptum
Nóra Baráth – English horn; Ars Artis Ensemble

Antal Doráti: Five Pieces for Solo Oboe
Márta Malomvölgyi Berger – oboe

Charles Koechlin: Vocalise
Lilla Nyeste-Mokbel – oboe d’amore; Ars Artis Ensemble

Miklós Rózsa: Sonata for Solo Oboe
Kriszta Pethő – oboe

Zoltán Kodály: Epigrams
Melinda Kozár – English horn; Ars Artis Ensemble

Ars Artis Ensemble:
Ágnes Soltész – violin; Anikó Ecseki – violin; Eszter Stankowsky – violin; Nóra Stankowsky – violin; Balázs Tóth – viola; Endre Stankowsky – cello; Seçil İrem Keskin – double bass

Host:
Lajos Lencsés, oboist, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts

Photo:
Etruscan wall painting depicting the ancestor of the oboe – Tarquinia, Italy
Source: tarquiniaturismo.com

Organizer:
Hungarian Academy of Arts – Section of Music