Concerto for oboe and orchestra (Yano)
The Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra by Marco Aurelio Yano is a solo concerto for oboe accompanied by a large symphony orchestra with percussion and synthesizer . The work is dedicated to the Brazilian oboist Alex Klein and was not completed in 1991 when Yano died of a tumor. Edmundo Villani Cortes completed it.
History of origin
Marco Aurelio Yano and Alex Klein met at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), and in 1988 Klein asked him to write an oboe concerto. It should be a large-scale work, at least 30 minutes long. It should be written for a large orchestra with a bit of a 'concertante' style that should also take on a large part of the themes and their development. The composer's homeland, Brazil , should come into its own in the motifs and themes of the work as well as in the rhythm and harmony. In addition, it should utilize the possibilities of the oboe in every of its facets, not only technically, improvisationally and in modern playing techniques, but also in its musical abilities and its lyrical qualities.
Yano succeeded in creating a work that set new standards in all these aspects and is therefore only playable by a few oboists. In 1991, Yano completed the manuscript for all three movements, and began working on the orchestration, but died of a tumor before he had finished orchestrating the second movement. His composition teacher at the time, Edmundo Villani Cortes , completed the work.
Since there was no final meeting between Klein and Yano as originally planned, Klein edited the oboe part to adapt it to the characteristics of the oboe.
The work
The work is written for a large symphony orchestra, with the addition of a synthesizer and an enlarged percussion ensemble. A performance of the work takes about 37 minutes.
Sentence sequence :
- (In Memoriam)
- Seresta
- Frevo
1. (In Memoriam)
A close examination of the motifs and the circumstances in which they were created indicate that the first movement is program music , almost a symphonic poem . The sentence structure follows the composer's life, his development, crises and premature death in chronological order. The main motif, repeated countless times throughout the piece, is the composer's name as pronounced in Portuguese .
The set takes about 10 minutes. Its basic character suggests intense suffering and hard effort. Details such as the intense headache he suffered from, as well as nausea and fear shine through the orchestration clearly, as does the voice of the grandfather calling his name in the motifs of tuba and double bass in the slow middle section: Yano had his mother's from told of a dream in which his grandfather kept calling his name.
Quite unexpectedly, the oboe sustains a high note and the orchestra gradually disappears. The 45-second note at the end of the movement symbolizes the flat line on an electrocardiogram (EKG) under which the orchestra plays a previously unheard two-tone theme: B and A. This two-note motif, appearing at the moment of his death, could symbolize his nickname Quinho in Portuguese, as he is called three times, each time quieter. Yano left no sentence label, and Alex Klein named the first sentence 'In Memoriam' in view of the analysis.
2. Seresta
The other movements show strong influences from Brazilian music. Seresta is a traditional, elegiac song. Yano added the cadence later at the beginning, creating a transition from the difficult first movement to this hopeful second. The Seresta harmonies are based on Brazilian folk music . The almost Wagnerian length of the movement (it lasts about 12 minutes) triggers an intense mood that does not change throughout the movement.
3. Frevo
The Frevo is a dance from the northeastern states of Brazil. Usually in 4/4 time, with a strongly emphasized beat at the end of the measure, the Frevo forms the closing part and the finale for the concert. Yano uses a 7/8 time in places, creating an off-beat feeling with interesting rhythmic shifts. In the middle section, the fast movement is interrupted by a slow sequence, which is introduced by a horn solo coming from afar, followed by oboe and strings. This is followed by another quick part in which the Frevo leads the soloists to a coda through Paganini- like variations . The soloist plays an impressive cadenza, which is led by the orchestra's last interlude, in which the theme of the middle section is triumphantly repeated before the concert ends in an atmospheric virtuoso manner. This set takes about 15 minutes.