Date of Composition: 2012

Duration: 8 Minutes

Commissioner: Rong-Huey Liu

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I. Allegro Animato

II. Adagio Espressivo

III. Freely - Vivo Scherzando

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Program Notes: My Three Scherzi for Solo Oboe, Op. 26 are written for and dedicated to Los Angeles oboist Rong-Huey Liu and later arranged for Solo Alto Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute. These short yet demanding pieces require a keen sense of control and masterful musicianship for this fastidious instrument. The first movement, marked Allegro Animato, opens with a playful theme in F Major before it takes a few chromatic twists and turns and descends to a point of stability. It quickly builds back up for a dramatic return of the theme followed by a swift transition into a sprightly middle section. After a chromatic ascent and decent build upon the early thematic rhythms, a definitive return to the opening material is heard and a quirky conclusion is ushered in. The second movement, Adagio Expressivo, is a sensual outpouring of longing. The melancholic theme, with hints of hope, endlessly grows and develops at both its highest and lowest points. A smooth transition back into the introductory material heralds an evolved variation of the theme and concludes with a whimsical F-Sharp Major scalar passage before reaching home. The third movement, Freely;Vivo Scherzando, is a perpetuum mobile of sorts. It opens with a plaintive theme that is quickly transformed into the aggressive and rhythmically unstable scherzando. The regularly shifting time signature and recurring accented interval of a minor third become the driving force of this short etude-like scherzo. After reaching a peak of frenzy, the music winds down and returns to a slightly varied form of the free, opening theme. Just when one feels at rest, a heightened sense of instability and virtuosity are demanded before reaching the final, calming folk-like calls before a sudden final vivo appears to bring the cycle to a dramatic close.

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Performance History:

-December 5th, 2012; No. 1 & 2; Glendale Noon Concerts; First Baptist Church; Glendale, California – 12PM

-May 8th, 2013; The Art of the Oboe; Greenwich House Music School – Renee Weiler Concert Hall; New York, NY 

-June 2nd, 2013; Faculty Recital Series; La Sierra University; Riverside, California – 7PM

-July 10th, 2013; Music at MiMoDa – Paper or Plastik Cafe; West Los Angeles, California – 8PM

-August 4th, 2013; Private Recital at Stan Harris’; Los Angeles, California – 7PM

-August 5th, 2014; No. 1 & 2; Recital; Annenberg Beach House; Santa Monica, California –6:30PM

-August 16th, 2014; Northwest Oboe Seminar; All Saints Episcopal Church; Portland, Oregon – 7:30PM

-May 29th, 2017; Athens Conservatory - Ωδείον Αθηνών; Athens, Greece – 8PM

-August 30th, 2018; International Double Reed Society; Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones; Paseo del Violón - Sala Albéniz-Machuca; Granada, Spain – 3:45PM

-November 30th, 2023; No. 1; Recital - New York Kammermusiker; New York, New York - ??PM

-December 2nd, 2023; No. 1; Recital - New York Kammermusiker; New York, New York - ??PM