"The first subject of the opening movement is given to the solo violin. With its somewhat inflexible head-motif (a Baroque descending fourt) and the convoluted figuration that it leads into, it sounds as if it originated in a 'fugato'. The imitative entries of the oboe and cello reinforce that impression. Traces of polyphonic thinking persist even in the tutti entry, in which the head-motif is involved in something like a fugal 'stretto'. The pregnant opening theme of the second movement, Cantabile, is stamped unmistakably by the prevalance of suspensions in the melodic material (feminine cadences) typical of early Classicism. This ternary movement has an extensive recapitulation which makes way for the 'terzettino' with a generous cadence. In the last movement (Andantino), an ebullient theme and seven variations, the separate soloists have the chance to show off a variety of style of playing a ornamentation. The last variation (tutti and concertino) is twice as long as the others and also has a coda.
"Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was a violinist by vocation, but he owes his place in history to the German 'Singspiele' he wrote. In his richly anecdotal autobiography he refers to two oboe concertos commissioned in 1757 by the Count of Breda for his 'virtuoso oboists', although, as it turned out, Dittersdorf wrote only one of them. In their catalogue supplement of 1775 the publishers Breitkopf and Härtel list three oboe concertos, but none of them can be identified with the G major concerto.
"In the opening movement, the motto-like head-motif is diverted once into the sub-dominant and later freely elaborated by the solo oboist. The task of the soloist is ornamentation and variation, rather than 'working out' in the modern sense. The playful second subject, in the dominant, is given to the oboe exclusively. In the middle section - it cannot be called a 'development' - the soloist again embarks on a subject in the dominant which is also eschewed by the tutti. The conventional thematic separation of soloist and tutti is thus still in evidence.
"In the Adagio Dittersdorf succeeds in introducing a Romantic atmosphere, by effects of instrumentation. The third movement can be described as a free concerto movement in several sections, with a multiplicity of themes. The soloist takes over the vigorous first subject from the tutti, at first repeating it note for note, but then develops it freely and leads into the dominant. Having arrived there, the soloist is given two new subjects which the tutti answers with a theme of its own. New motivic material is added during the course of the multiple exchange between soloist and tutti, until the first subject reasserts itself towards the end and establishes the concluding tonality.
"Ludwig August Lebrun was a member of the Mannheim orchestra from 1764 until his death and was regarded as one of the leading oboists of his day. His compositions - ballets, concertos and a variety of chamber works - testify to the high standards of the musical training of orchestral players of that period. His reputation was spread throughout the cultural centres of Europe by the many tours he undertook. Lebrun 'enchants 'le tout Paris' with his divine oboe', the critic Schubart enthused in 1775.
"We possess quite a number of oboe concertos by Lebrun. The D minor concerto probably dates from the mid-1770s. The opening movement already typifies the modern Mannheim concerto style with an extensive double exposition, although the soloist's part still allows free development after the first period. The attractive F major subject is introduced without a caesura by the oboe; transposed into the tonic minor it establishes itself as second subject in the recapitulation. The middle section can be described as a 'development' in the later sense, because the first subject, but not the second, is motivically elaborated. Its appearance in E-flat major creates at first the illusion of a recapitulation, but the real recapitulation is not reached until the return to D minor has been effected. The final section is dominated by virtuoso figuration.
"Lebrun wrote a solemn theme of remarkable richness for the Grazioso of the second movement. The soloist dominates the ternary movement for almost the whole of its extent, and exchange with the tutti are reduced to only a few bars.
"The last movement begins in careless rapture, with a theme constructed by sequential repetition. It soon reveals itself as an exemplary Mannheim rondo. The third of the soloists three pregnant couplets alludes to the triple rhythm of the Moravian dance called the Hanacca. The last refrain is extended in a manner that, after a reticent but structurally important 'ritardando', allows an extra refrain to be added. The concerto is an impressive work, and reveals Lebrun as a technically competent composer and one of the progressives of the time, who anticipated the cyclical formal integration of the Classical age." (Heinz Becker, tr. Mary Whittall. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Camerata Bern, Thomas Füri, Heinz Holliger
1. Ludwig August Lebrun - Oboe Concerto In D Minor: I. Allegro
2. Ludwig August Lebrun - Oboe Concerto In D Minor: II. Grazioso
3. Ludwig August Lebrun - Oboe Concerto In D Minor: III. Allegro
4. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Oboe Concerto In G Major: I. Maestoso
5. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Oboe Concerto In G Major: II. Adagio
6. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Oboe Concerto In G Major: III. Allegro
7. Antonio Salieri - Triple Concerto In D Major: I. Allegro
8. Antonio Salieri - Triple Concerto In D Major: II. Cantabile
9. Antonio Salieri - Triple Concerto In D Major: III. Andantino
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