Oboe Concerto

Oboe and Orchestra (Fl/Picc, Ob, Cl, Bsn, Hn, Tpt, Trbn, 2 Perc, Pno, Ob Solo, Strings)

Duration: 22 min

Co-commissioned by the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, and League of Composers /ISCM

Program Note:

The reading of a Tibetan teacher’s interpretation of sadness is the primary spiritual guidance of this concerto. In this case, the meaning of “sadness” uniquely transforms from the stereotypical negative connotation to a highly personal practice of receptive energy. And I quote the great Chogyam Trungpa from his monumental work “SHAMBHALA – The Sacred Path of the Warrior”:

“…if you put your hand through your rib cage and feel for it, there is nothing there except for tenderness. You feel sore and soft, and if you open your eyes to the rest of the world, you feel tremendous sadness…this experience of sadness is unconditioned. It occurs because your heart is completely exposed. There is no skin or tissue covering it; it is pure raw meat. Even if a tiny mosquito lands on it, you feel so touched. Your experience is raw and tender and so personal.”

“The Genuine Heart of Sadness” aspires to that level of tenderness and vulnerability.

This concerto is the composer’s manifesto to a life in music art. Trungpa’s warrior is the powerful embodiment of both supreme virtuosity and tender vulnerability, a delicate balance of the masculine and feminine. Both aspects of Trungpa’s complex collaborative nature fuels the composer in aspiring to an artistic ideal.

This concerto is written for Liang Wang, the principle Oboist at the New York Philharmonic, a pure music lover, a visionary performer, and a soaring soprano at heart.

Contact Wang Jie to inquire about the score