Performers

Slovak Philharmonic
Daniel Raiskin conductor
Anna Štrbová oboe

Program

Johann Nepomuk Hummel
– Freudenfest-Ouvertüre in D major, S. 148
– Introduction, Theme and Variations, Op. 102

Ralph Vaughan Williams
– Concerto in A minor for Oboe and Strings

Ludwig van Beethoven
– Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60

Oboe is a woodwind instrument with an unmistakable sound, whose development was completed with the introduction of Theobald Böhm's key system in 1844. During the Baroque and Classicism, it seconded the violin due to its soprano position, but there are also solo compositions for this instrument. Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a piano virtuoso, composer and native of Pressburg, worked on a piece for oboe during his time in Weimar. It combines strict variations with free fantasy sections. The abstract and fairy-tale atmosphere will certainly be evoked by the concert of Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose London premiere was canceled in 1944 due to bombing by the Germans.
The talented young Slovak oboist Anna Štrbová, who has been studying in Switzerland since 2015 and, despite her young age, has extensive concert experience, will perform alongside chief conductor Daniel Raiskin.