Bohuslav Martinů - Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra

- Composer: Bohuslav Martinů (8 December 1890 -- 28 August 1959) - Orchestra: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner - Soloist: Heinz Holliger - Year of recording: 1991 Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, H. 353, written in 1955. 00:00 - I. Moderato 05:00 - II. Poco andante 11:24 - III. Poco allegro Czech-born Australian oboist Jiří Tancibudek had been performing oboe recitals in Australia following his emigration there, and had been often asked to play more Czech music. Although he had never met Martinů, they had both played in the Czech Philharmonic (albeit 30 years apart). When Tancibudek wrote to the composer in the early 1950s asking for such a piece, he was initially rebuffed. But Martinů wrote again in 1954, saying he would write the work and asked Tancibudek to introduce it to the world. It was sponsored by the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper in celebration of the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.